Pope Francis to young people: God is thirsty for you
“Francesco il giullare di Dio” is a
new book authored by Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa with the introduction
written by Pope Francis. In it, the Pope encourages young people to respond to
the call of God who never ceases to thirst for us.
By Vatican News staff writer
Pope Francis has penned some words of
introduction to a book written by Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the Preacher
of the Papal Household.
The new book titled “Francesco il
giullare di Dio" (loosely translated as “Francis, God’s jester”) tells the
story of Brother Pacificus, a storyteller, who was a follower of St. Francis of
Assisi. The book is published by the Edizioni Francescane Italiane.
Addressed to young people
The Holy Father highlights that the
book is written for young, searching people “as a gift” filled with the “esteem
and trust” that he places in all young people.
Pope Francis notes that many,
perhaps, have read and questioned Jesus’ words in the Gospels: "Ask and it
will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to
you. For whoever asks receives, and whoever seeks finds, and to him who knocks
it will be opened" (Mt 7:7-8).
“These are powerful words, full of a
great and demanding promise,” the Pope affirms. “But, we might ask ourselves:
are they to be taken seriously? If I ask the Lord, will He really listen to my
request? If I seek him, will I find Him? If I knock, will He open the door to
me? …Doesn’t experience sometimes seem to belie this promise? …Can these words
be trusted or not? …Won’t they, too, like so many others I hear around me, be a
source of illusions and therefore of disappointment?”
These questions call to mind another
passage of scripture which illuminate them in all their depth, the Pope said:
“You will seek me and you will find me, for you will seek me with all your
heart; I will let myself be found by you". (Jer 29:13-14).
Likewise, “God allows Himself be
found, yes, but only by those who seek Him with all their heart,” Pope Francis
writes.
The Lord answers if we seek Him
Pope Francis goes on to illustrate
examples of promises fulfilled when Jesus encountered people. He says that the
Lord allowed Himself to be found by the insistence of the importunate widow, by
Nichodemus’ thirst for truth, by the faith of the centurion, by the cry of the
widow of Nain, by the leper’s desire for health and by Bartimaeus’ longing for
sight.
These people, the Pope notes, “are
the ones for whom finding an answer had become an essential matter…any one of
them could have rightfully uttered the words of Psalm 63: "My soul thirsts
for you [Lord], my flesh longs for you, like a barren land without water".
In the same way, “the one who seeks
finds if they seek with all their heart, if the Lord becomes as vital for them
as water for the desert, as the earth for a seed, as the sun for a flower.”
This also is respectful of our
freedom, as faith is not given automatically, indifferent of our participation,
but rather "it asks you to involve yourself in the first person and with
your whole self. It is a gift that wants to be wanted. It is, in essence, Love
that wants to be loved.”
God is thirsty for us
“Perhaps you have been looking for
the Lord and have not found Him. Allow me to ask you a question: How strong was
your desire for Him?” The Pope inquires.
“Seek Him with all the impetus of
your heart, pray, ask, invoke, cry out, and He, as He has promised, will be
found,” the Pope urges. Because “the Lord desires that you seek Him so that He
can find you.”
Recalling the words of St. Gregory of
Naziansus “Deus sitit sitiri”, Pope Francis further explains
that “God is thirsty for us to thirst for Him” so that by finding us willing,
he might meet us.
Responding to God’s call
“What if He knocks on your door
today?” the Pope asks: “When the Lord calls us to Himself, He does not
want compromise or hesitation on our part, but a radical response.”
Illustrating the importance of
responding to God’s call, Pope Francis recounts the story of a renowned “King
of verse” who met St. Francis one day in the monastery of Colpersito in San
Severino Marche. In a similar manner as St. Paul, struck by light on his way to
Damascus, this “king of verse” was struck by the holiness of St. Francis and
immediately lost all his hesitation.
In that moment, “a new man was born,”
the Pope explains.” He was no longer William of Lisciano, the king of verse,
but Brother Pacificus, a man inhabited by a new peace previously unknown. From
that day, he became all for God, consecrated entirely to Him, one of Saint
Francis' closest companions, a witness to the beauty of faith.”
God has not stopped calling
Further inviting young people to read
the book, Pope Francis reminds them that “God has not stopped calling,” and he
does not tire of coming to meet us “as the shepherd seeks the lost sheep, as
the woman of the house seeks the lost coin, as the father seeks his children.”
“If you only lower the volume on
other things and raise the volume of your greatest desires, you will hear it
loud and clear within you and around you,” Pope Francis notes.
God continues to call and patiently
awaits from us the same response that Our Lady gave: “Behold, I am the handmaid
of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38).
“If you have the courage to leave
your securities and open yourself to Him," Pope Francis concludes, "a
new world will open up for you; and you, in turn, will become a light for
others.”
Vatican News
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