The Vatican broadcast the Apostolic Exhortation "Cristo Vive"

The Vatican today published the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus vivit (The Living Christ) signed by Pope Francis in Loreto, in the Marian Sanctuary of the Holy House, on March 25, 2019. It s & ## 39, is a document specially addressed to young people of the Church, but also to all the people of God.

This apostolic exhortation is the result of the Synod held from October 3 to 28 on youth, faith and the discernment of vocations. Indeed, the Pontiff claims to have been inspired by his debates and the conclusions of his Final Document at the time of writing.

Following the writing:

Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Christ lives"

"Christ lives, He is our hope and the most beautiful youth in the world, everything that touches becomes young, becomes new, becomes full of life, He lives and wants you alive!" Begins the post apostolic exhortation. – Synodal Christus vivit, signed by Pope Francis in Loreto, at the Marian Shrine of the Holy House on March 25 and published today, April 2. for the Vatican

The exhortation is the result of the Synod on Youth, Faith and Discernment of Vocations which was held from October 3 to 28, 2018. In fact, the pontiff states that at the time of writing of the present document, it was inspired by its debates and the conclusions of its final document.

It is a voluminous document of 299 points distributed in 9 chapters, in which it tackles various topics. It contains the following elements: a young and renewing Church, the heterogeneity of youth, Mary as a reference for young people, young people in a world in crisis, migrants, youth problems, badual abuse of minors , youth as a moment of vocational discernment, the relationship between youth and the elderly, youth ministry, vocation to marriage and vocation to consecrated life.

It is a document specifically intended for young people in the Church, but also to the whole people of God.

The Pope briefly describes the path followed to access this document: "I was inspired by the richness of the reflections and the dialogues of the Synod of last year and he adds:" In this way, my word will be loaded with thousands of the voice of believers from all over the world who made their opinion known to the Synod. Even young non-believers, who wanted to participate with their reflections, proposed questions that raised new questions. "

Chapter 1

The Apostolic Exhortation Living Christ is composed of nine chapters. In the first, he takes up the Holy Scriptures and answers the question: What does the word of God say about young people? His answer goes through the Old Testament and recalls characters such as Gideon, Samuel, King David, Jeremiah, Ruth. However, he quotes the New Testament as saying, "He who is greatest among you becomes like the youngest." For him, age did not establish privileges, and the fact that someone was younger did not mean it was worth less. "

Chapter 2

The second chapter is devoted to seeing the figure of "Jesus always young". Inspired by the pbadage of the visit of Jesus and his parents to the temple in Jerusalem, Francis recalls that Jesus is not a loner. Therefore, "thanks to the trust of his parents … he moves freely and learns to walk with everyone". The Pope concludes that: "Jesus had unconditional trust in the Father, he took care of friendship with his disciples and, even at critical moments, he remained faithful to them.He showed a deep compbadion for the weak, especially the poor, the sick, the sinners and the outcasts.He had the courage to face the religious and political authorities of his time.He has had the experience of feeling misunderstood and scrapped; afraid of suffering and knew the fragility of pbadion. "

In this chapter, the Pope draws attention to the Church because it risks losing its enthusiasm and commitment: "We need to create more spaces where the voices of young people resonate". They will help to stay young. "Thanks to the holiness of the young, the Church can renew her spiritual ardor and her apostolic vigor". Finally, the pope recalls personalities such as Mary, Saint Sebastian, Saint Francis and many others, young people who bet and believe in the project of Jesus.

Chapter 3

In chapter three, the pope calls it: "You are now to God" and begins by appreciating the contribution of young people to their local churches: "when the Church abandons the rigid patterns and opens up to the available and attentive listening of the young people, this empathy enriches it, because it allows the young people to give their contribution to the community, to open to new sensibilities and to ask new questions " .

The pope invites us to realize that we can not speak of a single young person. It is a varied and multicultural reality that is not expressed in the same way in cases where young people are in the majority as in cases where young people are in the minority. Nor is it the same when young people are closer to the opportunities offered by globalization than those who live in the margins and bitterness of societies. Those who have families and live with them and those who, because of migration and war, are alone.

In this chapter, the pope expresses on the subject of abuse: "I wish to express with gratitude and gratitude my gratitude to those who have had the courage to denounce the sufferings endured: they help the Church to become aware of what has happened. past and the need to react decisively. "

The Pope encourages them by remembering: "When they are excited about community life, they are able to make great sacrifices for others and for the community, and instead, isolation weakens and exposes them. to the worst evils of our time. "

Chapter 4

In the fourth chapter, the pope exposes "three great truths that we all need to hear forever and again": The first is: "God loves you, never doubt, beyond what happens to you In every life, you are infinitely loved. "The second truth is that" Christ, out of love, gave himself up to the end to save you. " Never forget that "he forgives seventy times seven times". The third truth is that they killed the saint, the just, the innocent, but he won. Evil does not have the last word. In your life, evil will not have the last word either, because your friend who loves you wants to triumph in you. Your savior lives. "" The Holy Spirit brings you more and more into the heart of Christ so that you may be ever more filled with his love, his light, and his strength. "

Chapter 5

Caminos de Juventud is titled the fifth chapter. He answers the question: how does youth live when we allow ourselves to be enlightened and transformed by the great proclamation of the Gospel? For the Pope, youth is a blessed time for the young and a blessing for the Church and the world. It's a joy, a song of hope and happiness. To appreciate young people means to consider this time of life as a precious moment and not as a stage in which young people feel pushed into adulthood. For this reason, he invites them: "Pick yourself off, get out of yourself".

Jesus can unite all the young people of the Church into one dream, "a great dream and a dream that can lodge everyone." This is the dream for which Jesus gave his life on the cross and the dispersed Holy Spirit and branded on the day of Pentecost in the hearts of every man and woman "so that we may be brothers, committed against violence and defenders of life.

Chapter 6

Young people with roots, the Pope titles the sixth chapter. For him, it is a fundamental question. Having roots, it's being connected to a story, a family, a culture, friends, elderly people that you have to listen to, although not always to follow. It is not a question of falling into the adoration of the youth, because we risk to lead a superficial life, continues the pope, and continues: "Dear young people, do not accept that they use their youth to favor a superficial life, which confuses beauty with appearance Better to know that there is beauty in the worker who returns home dirty and disheveled, but with the joy of having won the bread of his children There is an extraordinary beauty in the communion of the family at the table and in the bread shared generously, although the table is very poor.There is beauty in this disheveled and almost old woman, who takes care of her sick husband beyond his strength and his own health. "

Chapter 7

The seventh chapter is devoted to youth ministry. The pope says: "It develops in two aspects: the awareness that it is the whole community that evangelizes them and the urgency to play a more important role in the pastoral proposals".

The pope encourages the search for new, creative and bold ways in which the institutional church is more flexible and synodal and "offers young people a place where they not only receive training but also allow them to share life, Celebrate, sing, listen to true testimonies and live the meeting of the community with the living God ".

Chapter 8

The eighth chapter is devoted to the vocation. For the Pope: "The essential thing is to discern and discover that what Jesus wants from every young person is above all their friendship". In this friendship, he affirms: "We are called by the Lord to participate in his creative work, bringing our contribution to the common good through the abilities we receive".

The vocation "is therefore a path that will guide many efforts and many actions in a service direction, so in discerning a vocation, it is important to see if we recognize in ourselves the capabilities needed for this specific service to society ".

Chapter 9

The ninth chapter is devoted to the subject of discernment. The pope starts from the fact that "without the wisdom of discernment, we can easily become puppets at the mercy of the trends of the moment". For this reason, he considers: "The formation of consciousness is the path of a lifetime, in which one learns to nurture the feelings proper to Jesus Christ, baduming the criteria of his decisions and the intentions of his way of life. 39; act. "

The Pope recalls that "the gift of vocation will undoubtedly be a demanding gift". Therefore, "when the Lord raises a vocation, he does not think only of what you are, but of all that you can become with him and the others". The pope thus presents a methodology for the discernment of the vocation: the attention to the person. This action is a help for personal discernment and sensitivity to listen to the impulses that the other feels and to help others listen to these impulses. Thus, discernment is an instrument to follow the Lord.

The pope concludes by wishing: "Dear young people, I will be happy to see you run faster than the slowest and the most fearful Run," attracted by this beloved face, which we adore in the Holy Eucharist and which we recognize in the flesh of his suffering brother. The Holy Spirit pushes you in this race forward. The Church needs your enthusiasm, your intuitions, your faith. We need you! And when they arrive where we have not yet arrived, have the patience to wait for us. "

With information from AICA.