(ANS - Turin)- With a greeting in Piedmontese, spoken just as Don Bosco would have spoken it in his native tongue, the young people introduced themselves to Pope Francis at the meeting reserved for them in Piazza Vittorio Veneto in Turin on Sunday 21 June during his pilgrimage to the Shroud.

The Pope had just been to Valdocco and the memory of his meeting with the Salesian world before the altar of their holy founder was still very much alive.  His answers to the questions of the young people who had been chosen to represent the concerns and hopes of all were an intense catechesis on the "Greatest Love", which was the theme of the 2015 Exposition of the Shroud.

The Holy Father took John, chapter 15, verses 12 and 17, as his starting point. In it the three words that run through the discourse of Jesus to his disciples are: love, life and friends.  "These three words overlap and explain each other," the Pope said. If the word ‘love’ is not to be reduced to the kind of ​​feeling found in a soap opera, "it must be expressed more in deeds than in words. God entered mankind to become involved in the history of a people. His involvement culminated in the sacrifice of his Son on the cross."

Love is shared by "listening, responding, and knowing how to dialogue" explained Pope Francis. He then said "an unpopular word" but one that he felt it his duty as pastor to state with sincerity: "love is very respectful of people and does not use people; love is chaste."

Taking the example of parents who spend the night caring lovingly for a sick child, and then go to work the next day no matter how difficult it may be, Pope Francis explained that love means sacrificing self for others. "The cross is the sign of that love."

He then went on to review the great tragedies of the twentieth century which all have in common the throwaway philosophy which disregards the weakest and most defenceless members of society.

And today the 40% of young people who cannot find work in cities such as Turin are a victim of this philosophy: "They live in shame with a feeling of not being worthy and they end up in various addictions, or they go to fight with terrorists in pursuit of an ideal."

Living a satisfying life means "living and not just going through the motions".  Citing the example of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati the Pope expressed his appreciation of young people from the oratory who reach out to others and discover lasting values. "Do constructive things that bring people together”, he said, “this is the best antidote to disillusionment in life."

Sharing, cooperation and building are counter cultural. "Work, work!" he said, re-echoing the motto of the Salesians from their very first experiences with young people in Valdocco. "Christians at the end of the nineteenth century faced the most adverse conditions for moving forward. Threatened by the spread of Freemasonry and anticlericalism, the Church seemed to be blocked" said Pope Francis.

Don Bosco is a model of the ability to go against the tide, and there were other heroic Christians like him who flourished at that time in Turin. "Think about what the saints of this land did," he concluded, “and live your lives always reaching out to bring something to others. If you stand still you are not living life."

Published 22/06/2015