During the mass he presided over at the esplanade of Japoma stadium this Friday, the sovereign pontiff addressed a message of encouragement to the youth and an invitation to live the virtues.
The meditation of Pope Leo XIV inspired by the liturgical texts of the day and delivered before 120,000 faithful, according to the Vatican, was partly addressed to young Cameroonians. The successor of Peter focused his teaching on the multiplication of five loaves and two fish taken from the Gospel according to Saint John chapter 6. In his message, he calls on the youth as brothers and sisters of Jesus, the one who performed the multiplication of bread. The head of the Catholic Church invites them to multiply their talents through faith, tenacity, and the friendship that dwells within them. “Be the first to embody the faces and hands that bring to others the bread of life: a food of wisdom that frees from all that does not nourish, diverts our good desires, and steals our dignity,” the pope declared.
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The vicar of Christ continued his meditation by noting that many experience poverty and hunger both materially and spiritually in a Cameroon that is “so fertile.” Such a situation exposes young people to many temptations and abuses that can lead them to indifference. But, to protect them from these temptations, the pope invites them to avoid certain behaviors. “Do not give in to mistrust and discouragement. Reject all forms of abuse and violence, which deceive by promising easy gains and harden the heart making it insensitive,” exhorts the man of God.
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Furthermore, in the same vein, thinking about the future of these young people which may be compromised, the sovereign pontiff draws their attention to the importance of living values to participate in the development of the country. These are “faith, family, hospitality, work.” Thus, “Be the actors of the future, following the vocation that God gives to each one, without letting yourselves be bought by temptations that waste energy and do not serve the progress of society,” insists the pope who is on the third day of his apostolic visit to Cameroon. The Douala stop followed his entry into Yaoundé on Wednesday and his return from Bamenda on Thursday.
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