Pope Leo XIV asked Peruvian youth this Thursday, November 12, not to be deceived by the idea that sin can make them happy, and invited them to engrave in their hearts some words from Benedict XVI: “Evil always poisons.” He did so during the prayer vigil with young people and university students held at the National Stadium in Lima, on the second day of his apostolic journey to Peru. According to local authorities, some 60,000 young people filled the venue and another 300,000 followed the event in the surrounding areas.
“How could what harms us bring us happiness?”
The Pope structured his speech around three words: passion, vocation, and friendship, starting from Jesus’ question to the first disciples in the Gospel of John: “What are you looking for?” He encouraged them not to rush to answer, because, he said, “there are questions that accompany us for a long time.” Speaking about God’s will, he warned against the “suspicion” that following Him requires giving up dreams or that one must sin to fully enjoy life.
In response to that idea, Leo XIV turned to his predecessor: “I would like you to engrave in your hearts those words of Pope Benedict XVI: ‘Evil always poisons.’” And he added: “Do not be deceived! How could what harms us bring us happiness?” He then recalled that God knows each person’s deepest desires, even better than they do themselves, that He has placed in man the desire to love and to be happy, and that He wants to bring it to fulfillment, so that the Lord, he affirmed, “takes nothing away, He gives everything.”
Suffering does not have the last word
In the section dedicated to the Passion, the Pope emphasized that Christ “did not desire the cross, He desired our salvation,” and that out of love He accepted it and carried it to the end, so that that instrument of death became the place where a love capable of conquering death was revealed. From this he drew a pastoral exhortation: “Dear young people, when you suffer, turn to Jesus. Do not be afraid to speak to Him sincerely, even when you find it hard to find words to pray.” He also asked them to seek the company of those who love them, because some pains need time and a helping hand, and he recalled that faith sustains us on that path and teaches that suffering never has the last word.
Vocation, friendship with Christ, and trust
Regarding vocation, Leo XIV explained that God calls some to the priesthood or consecrated life and others to marriage and family, and that in all cases it is about putting talents at the service of others. He invited them to be passionate about what is true, good, and beautiful, to develop their talents, to discover the richness of their culture, and to dare to undertake generous projects. He also stressed that friendship with Jesus, cultivated in prayer, the Eucharist, and the Word, makes relationships with others more sincere, and he encouraged them not to be afraid to speak about Him. The Pope concluded with a prayer of trust: “Jesus, I trust in You. Come, Lord Jesus!” During his stay in Lima, Leo XIV also asked the Peruvian bishops to unite doctrinal fidelity with pastoral closeness and to denounce false paths.