"Christus vivit" - Christ is Alive!

APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION OF THE HOLY FATHER 
​TO YOUNG PEOPLE AND TO THE ENTIRE PEOPLE OF GOD

Following the Youth Synod last October, Pope Francis has reflected and prayed upon the outcomes and released his Apostolic Exhortation to Young People entitled “Christus Vivit” – “Christ is Alive!”
In a powerful call to all Christian young people the Holy Father encourages them to truly live life to the full, with Christ.

Pope Francis points to the many obstacles to the life of faith in young people of the 21st century. Isolation, over-consumption of media, and addiction to drugs and pornography. are real enemies that the Pope says “rob you of hope and joy”. He goes on “… being young is not only about pursuing fleeting pleasures and superficial achievements. If the years of your youth are to serve their purpose in life, they must be a time of generous commitment, whole-hearted dedication, and sacrifices that are difficult but ultimately fruitful”. Communion/Community/Body are at the heart of what it is to be Christian in a world that is increasingly closing in on itself. In his 50 page letter, Pope Francis encourages the young to rediscover Christ and let him renew their hope.

The Holy Father goes on to reflect on the richness and great strength young people bring to the Church referring to the “beauty of youth”. We are all called by God to BE fully alive; to do this He calls us to particular ways of life, each unique to the individual. Pope Francis reflects that to be true to our God given Vocation be it clerical, religious, lay, single, married is demanding. The race of life must be constantly run until the very end, he says: “May the Holy Spirit urge you on as you run this race. The Church needs your momentum, your intuitions, your faith. We need them!”

Read the full text here.