April 16th, 2022
“CHRIST IS ALIVE! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world. The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive! (≠1)
… Christ is alive! We need to keep reminding ourselves of this, because we can risk seeing Jesus Christ simply as a fine model from the distant past, as a memory, as someone who saved us two thousand years ago. But that would be of no use to us: it would leave us unchanged, it would not set us free. The one who fills us with his grace, the one who liberates us, transforms us, heals and consoles us is someone fully alive.
He is the Christ, risen from the dead, filled with supernatural life and energy, and robed in boundless light. That is why St Paul could say: ‘If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile’ (1Cor 15:7).
(extracts taken from Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation to Young People & to the Entire People of God, CHRISTUS VIVIT, Christ is Alive, 2019)