Dear young people, good morning and welcome!

I am pleased to meet you. I greet you affectionately and, through you, I express my spiritual closeness to all young people engaged in their parishes and Christian communities in Belgium.

I admire the boldness of your faith, your commitment and your Christian witness in a society that is, as we know, ever more secularized. It is good to see young people of your age ready to dedicated themselves to evangelization projects and to live out Christ’s message in the midst of their daily tasks. You are not only the future of the Church, no, not only that, but above all the present; she needs you, because the Church is young: the Church is young, she needs your generosity, your joy, your will to build a different world, imbued with the values of fraternity, peace and reconciliation.

You experience joy and enthusiasm, but at times also fear, difficulties, wounds, confrontations with your limits, crises. Do not be afraid of crises, because crises make us grow. They do this, this, this and this to you, and you have to go forward and resolve the problems. Do not confuse crisis with conflict: conflict closes you up, crisis makes you grow. For this reason, your relationship with Christ must be solid. He is the faithful friend who never lets you down. The encounter with Jesus enables you to have a fresh outlook on situations, to find answers to your questions, to discover that you are capable of taking on responsibilities, of going forward in life and of consolidating your faith through a dialogue on your convictions. Moreover, do not be afraid of accepting your fragilities, your weakness, and do this with humility. These are my limits, but let’s go forward. “Father, I am neurotic, I am neurotic”, but rejoice in being neurotic and go ahead, without fear. You do not need to be superheroes, but rather sincere, true and free people [...]

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