Pope advises students: 'cultivate big projects; go beyond the ordinary'

Mary Seat of Wisdom

Pope Francis advised students to think big, and be brave and faithful to Christian ethical and religious principles, during his homily on Saturday at the Vespers for students in St Peter's Basilica. Hundreds of students and teachers attended the service, which is traditionally held at the start of Advent.

In his homily, the Pope spoke of God’s intervention in our lives as “an expression of His fidelity”. God intervenes because human nature is fragile. But He is, above all, faithful to Himself and “to the work He has begun in each one of us”, always bringing it to completion.

“This gives us great confidence and security: a confidence that rests in God and requires our active collaboration and bravery to face the challenges of the present moment”, he said. “Dear university students, your will and your abilities, combined with the power of the Holy Spirit who came to dwell within each one of you on the day of your Baptism, allow you to be not spectators, but protagonists of contemporary events.”

Pope Francis told the university students that they are called to confront their great challenges “with inner strength and the courage of the Gospel”. “The socio-cultural context in which you are placed is sometimes weighed down by mediocrity and boredom”, he said. “We must not resign ourselves to the monotony of everyday life, but cultivate big projects, to go beyond the ordinary: do not steal the enthusiasm of youth! It would be a mistake to be imprisoned by the uniform of weak thought.”

The Pope urged students not to be affected by prevailing opinions nor to lower ethical standards, but to be faithful to Christian ethical and religious principles. In doing the latter, he said, “you will find the courage to go even against the tide”. “The commitment to walk in faith and to behave in a manner consistent with the Gospel accompanies you in this time of Advent, to live out authentically the feast of the Nativity of the Lord.”

During the Vespers, an icon of Mary, Seat of Wisdom – patron of university students – was handed over from a Brazilian to a French delegation. The icon, by renowned iconographer Fr Marko Ivan Rupnik, has been taken to university chaplaincies across Brazil so that students could gather around it in prayer. It will now travel around France,

Source: Vatican Radio