World Youth Day in Lisbon: the feast of encounter

As we observe how the Church in various parts of the world is preparing for the upcoming World Youth Day (WYD)I would like to emphasize the meeting dimension of this event.

Not only because, after years marked by pandemics and various humanitarian crises, it is often the desire to meet one another that directs the hearts and steps of so many young people towards Lisbon, but also because the very theme of WYD, chosen by Pope Francis, encourages us to open ourselves to an encounter with God and with our neighbor.

After the Annunciation, a personal and transforming encounter with the Lord, "Mary arose and departed without delay" (Lk 1:39) to meet her cousin Elizabeth: moves to seek the most genuine connection, that which arises from encounter, sharing, love and service. [Pope Francis, Message for the XXXVII WYD].

This personal and transforming encounter with God can take place very soon in Lisbon, whether in his Word and in the sacraments, which are at the center of daily celebrations, or in the silence of the heart during moments of adoration and personal prayer, as well as through the words and presence of Christ's witnesses: his Successor, Pope Francis, thousands of bishops, priests, consecrated persons and young Christians from all over the world.

And just as Mary met the Lord in the intimacy of her home, for many pilgrims who will visit Portugal, this experience that helps us to look at life with new eyes can take place in the homes of Portuguese families who, in the generosity of their hearts, will welcome them into their homes.

These meetings and their fruits may not be seen in the photos of WYD, they may escape the statistics and the media coverage of what will happen before, during the Days in the Dioceses all over Portugal and, afterwards, in Lisbon itself.

However, it is these encounters that can become the "game changers," to use the language of the young people, that will make them return to their daily journey with a new enthusiasm and a new impetus. And this enthusiasm of theirs can be the spark with which the Holy Spirit wants to renew the Church, which in the coming months will be oriented towards the Synod of Bishops and the Jubilee of the Holy Year. 

In his apostolic exhortation Christus vivitPope Francis reminds us, quoting his predecessor Benedict XVI, that one does not become a Christian because of an ethical decision or a great idea, but because of an encounter with an event, with a Person, which gives a new horizon to one's life and, with it, a decisive orientation. [ChV, 129].

We wish every participant, co-organizer and benefactor of WYD to be able to experience this encounter, which can renew or awaken the desire to be a disciple and friend of Christ.