Pope encourages Youth to dream big, adopt culture of care, and be champions of fraternity

Speaking to the youth at Sacred Heart School in Awali, Bahrain on Saturday, Pope Francis encouraged the youth to “never lose the courage to dream big and to live life to the full! Adopt the culture of care and spread it. Become champions of fraternity. Face life’s challenges by letting yourselves be guided by God’s faithful creativity and by good counsellors.”

The Pope invited young people to “embrace a culture of care,” explaining that “caring means developing an inner attitude of empathy” that leads to concern for other people and their interests.

The Pope said that this culture of care can be a “turning point” or “antidote” for the modern world, which is so often closed in on itself.

“If we embrace” the culture of care, “we will make the seed of fraternity grow,” the Pope continued.

Pope Francis told his audience that in order to care for others, they must first care for themselves by listening to their hearts and speaking with God, sharing the joys and sorrows of their life.

Pope Francis called on young people to “strive to be champions of fraternity,” so that they may be “builders of the future, because only in the fraternity will our world have a future.”

The Pope urged them to build relationships, especially a relationship with God, which can make it easier to see God in others.

He encouraged the youth to “accept the challenges of making decisions in life”; “press forward without fear, but never go it alone,” because God is always with us.

Pope Francis urged young people to distinguish God’s voice “through silent prayer and intimate dialogue with Him” and to seek out “good counsellors” in life before turning to the Internet for advice.

“Each of us needs to be accompanied on the road of life,” the Pope said.

Pope Francis told young people, “We need you! We need your creativity, your dreams and your courage, your charm and your smiles, your contagious joy and that touch of craziness that you can bring to every situation, which helps to break us out of our stale habits and ways of looking at things.”

He assured them, “The Church is with you and needs each one of you very much so that we can be renewed, explore new paths, experiment with new languages, and become more joyful and hospitable.” - With inputs from Vatican News