Enthronization of John X, Patriarch of Antioch
The Lord will not be content to see his Church, called to care for all, not taking sufficient interest in the poor, in his beloved little ones, and not considering them the primary object of its attentions and its activity. Jesus wants that no one may suffer poverty, seeing that we lack neither money nor opportunity. Why do we not remember what John Chrysostom, the great pastor who came from Antioch, recalled to each one of us: "You do not possess anything of what belongs to you, it is the property of others … it belongs to you and to your neighbor, like the sun, the air, and the earth” (Homilies on the Letter to the Corinthians, 20)?
Jesus suffers when he sees a large number of our children, especially young people, in confusion. He suffers when he sees them leaving the Church, submerged in a suffocating indifference. Regaining young people for Christ and for his Church should be one of our first priorities, just as we rejoice at the return of the prodigal son and invite him to take his place in the Church. Why do we not seek the real motives why our young people leave? Why do we not employ our pastoral care to reach them and convince them not only by word, but by a living liturgy and a teaching that returns us to the roots of our tradition and removes bureaucracy from some of our practices?
We must invent what will make them immerse themselves in a liturgy inspired by God, we must invent what will win them in it and make them see that it opens for them the doors to come to the heart of God and of their brethren…Young people are the Church’s wealth. They are ambassadors in this world in very rapid change. We want them to take seriously their role of ambassadors and to know that the entire Church has need of their enthusiasm and of the dedication of their entire life to reach their goal. We must make them understand their special place in the Church of Christ, who loved the rich young man and who was saddened at his departure. Young people are always rich on account of their modernity, their enthusiasm, and the great gifts received from God. We have need of them and lovingly we encourage them to work in the Church’s vineyard and to consider themselves responsible in it and for it, responsible together with all their brethren, especially those who watch over the care of the flock. If we love them as Christ loves, our relations with them become a relationship of fraternity, of love, and of mutual respect …