Pope Francis Tells Young People They Can’t Dream Too Much

681 0
Pope Francis greets Scouts during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 1, 2019. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

‘One of the big problems people have today, including so many young people, is that they have lost their ability to dream.’

Pope Francis had a clear message for young people on May 7, 2019: “One can never dream too much.”

His remarks came in a talk during an ecumenical meeting with young people at the Pastoral Center in Skopje, North Macedonia. It was a key stop during his May 5-7 ecumenical journey to Bulgaria and North Macedonia.

“Let me tell you that one can never dream too much,” the Holy Father said. “One of the big problems people have today, including so many young people, is that they have lost their ability to dream. They don’t dream, either much or little. When someone does not dream, when a young person does not dream, that empty space gets filled with complaints and a sense of hopelessness.”

The Pope cited the example of Skopje native Saint Mother Teresa. He said she was someone who never stopped dreaming.

“She dreamed in a big way, and this is why she also loved in a big way,” Francis said. “She had her feet firmly planted here, in her native land, but she didn’t stand still. She wanted to be ‘a pencil in the hands of God’. This was the dream she crafted. She offered it to God, she believed in it, she suffered for it, and she never gave it up. And God began to write new and amazing pages of history with that pencil.”

The Holy Father encouraged the young people present to follow the saint’s example. He said they should take their lives seriously and “make something beautiful.”

“Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of our dreams (cf. Christus Vivit, 17); let us not deprive ourselves of the newness that the Lord wants to give us. You will encounter many, many unexpected twists and turns in life, but it is important to face them and find creative ways of turning them into opportunities. But never alone! No one can fight alone.

“How important it is to dream together! Just as you are doing today: everyone together, here in one place, without barriers. Please, dream together, not by yourselves! Dream with others and never against others! By yourselves, you risk seeing mirages, seeing things that are not there. Dreams are built together.”

Related Post

Pope Francis prays in front of the coffins containing the exhumed bodies of Sts. Pio of Pietrelcina and Leopold Mandic in 2016 in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The pope plans to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Padre Pio and the 100th anniversary of him receiving the stigmata by visiting the famed Italian saint's hometown and the pediatric oncology ward of the hospital he founded. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters)

Pope to visit hometown, shrine of St. Pio in March

Posted by - December 23, 2017 0
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis plans to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of St. Pio of Pietrelcina…
A tourist photographs the sea in Palau in the Pacific OIcean . In a message for World Tourism Day Sept. 27, Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said the "digital transformation" of tourism has the potential for promoting happier and healthier vacations that do more to protect the natural environment and promote authentic encounters between people. (CNS photo/David Chang, EPA)

Use internet to promote tourism that respects environment, Vatican says

Posted by - August 11, 2018 0
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — With more and more people planning their vacations online and sharing their experiences digitally, the tourism…
The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington Nov. 8. Rep. Chris Smith, the New Jersey Republican who co-chairs the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, held a news conference with other lawmakers, pro-life leaders and health care workers to push for passage of the Conscience Protection Act. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn)

Groups urge passage of law protecting conscientious objection to abortion

Posted by - November 11, 2017 0
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Rep. Chris Smith, the New Jersey Republican who co-chairs the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, made another push…