00:00Music
00:22There is a need for a sign of hope and here today in this national stadium
00:29you are the sign of hope. It is my joy to meet myself with you, to be with you.
00:39It is a joy for me to be here with you.
00:44For such a warm welcome, I am grateful for the words of Cardinal Castillo
00:49and for the questions you put to me, as well as for the sincerity
00:57with which how Emily and Sister Luzbinda have opened their hearts to us.
01:04What they have shared gives me an opportunity to reflect with you
01:09on a scene from the Gospel of St. John.
01:15One day, John the Baptist was with two of his disciples.
01:22When he saw Jesus passing by, pointing him out, he said,
01:26Behold the Lamb of God.
01:29When they heard this, the two began to follow him.
01:33The Lord, realizing that they were following him,
01:37walked, looked at them and asked,
01:41What are you looking for?
01:44What a beautiful question.
01:46These are the first words spoken by Jesus in this Gospel.
01:50I would like each of you to hear that question as though Jesus were asking you today.
01:58What are you looking for?
02:00What do you hope to find?
02:03What do you hope for in life?
02:08Do not be in a hurry to answer.
02:13Some questions accompany us for a long time.
02:17Think about what fills you with enthusiasm about the people you love
02:23and the dreams you would be willing to fight to achieve.
02:28Think also about the concerns that sometimes keep you awake at night
02:35and the things you would like to change.
02:38Jesus is interested in all these matters because he is interested in you.
02:49There is a word that can help us understand this search.
02:54Passion.
02:56We use it to speak of what we love deeply,
03:00what awakens our enthusiasm and moves us to give the best of ourselves.
03:05But the word also reminds us of suffering,
03:10of experiences that seem to extinguish our desire to keep going.
03:20Some young people feel lonely even when they are surrounded by others.
03:27others carry the pain of a loss or uncertainty about their future.
03:34At times we ask ourselves why God allows certain things to happen
03:39or why he seems silent when we need him most.
03:49Let us remember then how John the Baptist introduced Jesus.
03:54Behold the Lamb of God.
03:56At the time those disciples could not yet understand what that name meant.
04:02But later in the light of the Lord's passion they would discover its meaning.
04:07He gave his life on the cross.
04:11Jesus too knew the anguish and darkness of suffering.
04:16From the cross he cried out,
04:21My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
04:31In the midst of that suffering Christ continued to love.
04:35He did not desire the cross.
04:38He desired our salvation.
04:41Out of love for us he accepted it and bore it to the end.
04:50Thus, through his suffering and self-giving,
04:55that instrument of death became the place where his passionate love was revealed,
05:00a love capable of conquering death.
05:06Dear young people, when you suffer, turn to Jesus.
05:10Do not be afraid to speak to him honestly,
05:13even when you struggle to find words for prayer.
05:17He knows our tears and the questions to which we do not yet know the answers.
05:25Seek to the company of those who love you.
05:29Some sorrows need time and a helping hand.
05:38Faith sustains us along this path and reminds us that suffering never hears the final word.
05:46Be passionate about everything that is worthwhile, about what is true, good and beautiful.
05:52Develop your talents, discover the richness of your culture and dare to undertake magnanimous projects.
06:01That's what we do.
06:10Pope Francis used to remind us that this restlessness can spare us to take our lives into our own hands
06:18and assume responsibility for a mission.
06:26God has created you for the purpose of accomplishing something that no one else can do in quite the same
06:36way.
06:39Let us return now to the two disciples.
06:42In response to Jesus, in response to Jesus' question, they said,
06:48Rabbi, where are you staying?
06:50And he replied, come and see.
06:54What a simple answer.
06:56Those men wanted to meet Jesus and share something of his life.
07:01The Lord did not explain in advance everything that lay ahead of them.
07:06To begin with, it was enough to accept his invitation.
07:14This is how evocation begins.
07:17The second word I would like to share with you.
07:22We all ask ourselves what to do with our lives and to whom we should give the best of ourselves.
07:30There are answers we discover only when we dare to walk with Jesus.
07:35Saint Paul reminds us that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
07:41Before we even existed, we were already loved by him.
07:54At times, we wonder whether following God's will means giving up our dreams.
08:00This fear can rise to an event more dangerous, suspicion, thinking that God is depriving us of something,
08:10and that in order to enjoy life fully, we also need to experience sin.
08:17Dear friends, I would like you to engrave in your hearts the words of Benedict XVI.
08:23Second, evil is always poisonous.
08:29Do not be deceived.
08:32How could something that harms us make us happy?
08:36God knows our deepest desires even better than we know them ourselves.
08:41He has placed within us the desire to love and to be happy, and he wants to bring that desire
08:48to fulfillment.
08:55As it has happened with the first disciples, it all begins with a simple invitation from a friend,
09:03an experience of service, or an encounter with someone whose life makes us ask what truly matters.
09:11The stories we have heard this evening began with an invitation too.
09:17Learning to recognize the Lord's voice in it is essential.
09:32So, dear young people, set aside moments of silence before the Blessed Sacrament to encounter Him.
09:41Speak to Him about your plans and allow His words to question you.
09:48Do not be afraid to ask Him what He expects of you.
09:52He will call some to the priesthood or the consecrated life, others to marriage and to forming a family.
09:59All are called to put their abilities at the service of others.
10:11Perhaps some of you think that you have made too many mistakes or that it is too late to begin
10:18anew.
10:19I would like to say to you, look to Jesus.
10:22He knows your story and continues to invite you to work with Him.
10:27You do not need to have your entire future worked out before you answer Him.
10:31Take the step you can take today.
10:36Trust in His love and allow Him to accompany you.
10:40Often the Lord shows us the way as we travel along it.
10:47So, take the step you can take today.
10:50Trust in His love and allow Him to accompany you.
10:53Often the Lord shows us the way as we travel along it.
11:02The gospel continues with a beautiful detail.
11:07Those disciples remained with Him that day.
11:11Saint John even remembers the time.
11:14It was about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
11:17The passing years could not erase the mark left by that encounter.
11:21They stayed with Jesus.
11:25This was how a relationship began.
11:28One that would grow as they journeyed together.
11:32So, now we come to the third word I would like to entrust to you.
11:36Friendship.
11:38Our vocation too grows when we learn to remain close to the Lord.
11:43To listen to Him and to share our joys and worries with Him.
11:48In time, those disciples will discover the full extent of His love.
11:54During the Last Supper, Jesus will say to them,
11:57I have called you friends.
12:00That same night, He will speak words that would be fulfilled on the afternoon of Good Friday.
12:10No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.
12:21This is the friend who calls you.
12:25Cultivate that friendship through prayer, the Eucharist, and listening to His word.
12:30The more we learn to love Jesus, the more capable we become of loving as He does.
12:37Our friendship with Christ also gives rise to a more authentic friendship with others.
12:44One that sincerely seeks their good, knows how to forgive, and remains faithful in times of difficulty.
12:53How beautiful it is to find friends who help us grow and draw us closer to God.
13:04The church is born and lives from this friendship with Christ.
13:11In her, we find brothers and sisters who help us keep going.
13:16We all need someone who will listen to us, encourage us when our strength fails, or simply remain at our
13:23side.
13:24So do not think that you must always appear strong, especially if you lead groups or accompany others.
13:33Allow yourselves to be cared for.
13:37Remember that Jesus too, in testimony, wanted His friends close to Him in the hour of anguish.
13:49Do not be afraid to share your sorrows with your friends and seek the support you need.
13:57There is one final detail from the Gospel that I would like to mention.
14:03After that encounter, Andrew went to find his brother Simon and told him,
14:08We have found the Messiah, and he brought him to meet Jesus.
14:13Do the same.
14:15Think especially of those who are going through difficult times.
14:18A gesture of friendship can change the course of life.
14:23Do not be afraid to speak about Jesus and show through your lives how good this friendship between you and
14:31Him is for you.
14:33Dear young people, listen to Jesus' invitation and dare to follow Him.
14:42Today I would like to repeat to you that the Lord takes nothing away and He gives you everything.
14:53Trust in Christ.
14:55Trust Him as you would as a true friend, one who knows you, loves you, and never abandons you.
15:03That trust will deepen your friendship with Him each day.
15:08Let us ask the Lord through the intercession of the Virgin Mary and the saints of Peru to increase our
15:15trust in Him day by day,
15:17to help us live our vocation with passion and to remain always in His friendship.
15:29Let us say together a simple prayer that will help us trust Jesus more and more each day.
15:35Repeat after me.
15:36Repeat after me.
15:38Jesus, I trust in you.
15:41Come, Lord Jesus.
15:46Come into my heart.
15:49Come into my family.
15:53Come into my community.
15:57Come into my life soon.
16:01Come quickly, Lord.
16:03Come forward.
16:05Come forward.
16:25These were the words of Pope Leo XIV during his prayer video with the young people at
16:32the Monumental Stadium in Lima, in this national stadium, Leo XIV gave this Eucharist to the
16:47young people of Lima, 50,000 young people that gathered in this Monumental Stadium just to
16:57be part of this bill and be part of all this Eucharist that Pope Leo XIV gave.
17:06We see here it is the Holy Father with one of the young people with a gift to him, an
17:17offering,
17:17and a lighter, okay.
17:30These are the images of Pope Leo in the Monumental Stadium in Lima with all the young people on,
17:44and during this, that Pope Leo XIV leads this prayer and the vigils with the young people.
