Pope Francis tells the young: don't ruin your lives looking for thrills

Pope Francis has warned young people against wasting their lives “looking for thrills” instead of seeking fulfilment, in his first direct address to hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered in Kraków.
In a potent message delivered under leaden skies and in front of a giant image of Jesus, the pope spoke of his concerns for the millennial generation, who could “pay dearly” for taking “dark paths”.
“It pains me to meet young people who seem to have opted for ‘early retirement’. I worry when I see young people who have ‘thrown in the towel’ before the game has even begun, who are defeated even before they begin to play, who walk around glumly as if life has no meaning. Deep down, young people like this are bored – and boring!” Francis told a massive crowd in Błonia park in the Polish city.
“But it is also hard, and troubling, to see young people who waste their lives looking for thrills or a feeling of being alive by taking dark paths, and in the end having to pay for it – and pay dearly. It is disturbing to see young people squandering some of the best years of their lives, wasting their energies running after pedlars of fond illusions … who rob you of what is best in you.”
Addressing young people directly, Francis added: “So I ask you: Are you looking for empty thrills in life, or do you want to feel a power that can give you a lasting sense of life and fulfilment? Empty thrills or the power of grace?”
Merciful hearts, said the pope, were “ready to embrace everyone. A merciful heart is able to be a place of refuge for those who are without a home or have lost their home; it is able to build a home and a family for those forced to emigrate; it knows the meaning of tenderness and compassion. A merciful heart can share its bread with the hungry and welcome refugees and migrants.”
The pope travelled to Błonia, where pilgrims began gathering several hours ahead of his address, in a white and yellow city tram accompanied by youths with disabilities and their carers. The vehicle’s destination indicator read “Tram del Papa”.
Francis waved through rain-spattered windows at crowds lining the route. On arrival at the park, he transferred to his open-sided pope mobile, which wove through a dense mass of flag-waving, singing pilgrims, with most clad in plastic rain ponchos.
Messages in Polish and English broadcast through loudspeakers warned people not to leave backpacks and other items unattended. Security is at its highest possible level in Kraków and other places the pope is scheduled to visit.
Among the crowd at Błonia was Jessica Rees, from Wrexham, who had travelled to the World Youth Day festival with two sisters and her mother.
“There are very few young people at our church, so it’s inspiring to see so many here celebrating their faith. It makes you feel you’re not alone,” said Jessica, 21.
Anel Zuniga, 33, who lives in London, said she had heard the pope speak in Brazil three years ago. “Whenever he speaks, it’s as though he was talking directly to you,” she said. “Even people who don’t believe [in God] listen to what he says. His message gets across.”
The pope had brought “freshness” to the Catholic church, said Joseph Philip, 23, from Plymouth. “He has made it easier for us to talk about our faith.”

Earlier on Thursday, the pope stumbled on an altar step at the Jasna Góra monastery in Częstochowa, 60 miles from Kraków. He was swiftly helped to his feet by servers, and his spokesman later said he was fine.
The monastery is home to the shrine of the legendary Black Madonna, a 14th-century icon of Mary and Jesus blackened by centuries of candle smoke, believed to have miraculous powers. Francis gazed at it in silence for several minutes before bowing his head in prayer.
Before returning to Kraków by military helicopter, he celebrated an open air mass in Częstochowa to mark the 1,050th anniversary of Poland adopting Roman Catholicism.
In his homily, he praised “ordinary and remarkable people” who had held on to their Catholic faith in times of adversity.

“Your own history, shaped by the gospel, the cross and fidelity to the church, has seen the contagious power of a genuine faith, passed down from family to family, from fathers to sons and above all from mothers and grandmothers, whom we need so much to thank,” he said.
Lech Wałęsa, Poland’s former president and founder of the Solidarity movement – and a devout Catholic – said a late invitation had prevented him from attending the mass at Jasna Góra.
Wałęsa said on his Facebook account that his invitation arrived on Tuesday, too late for him to cancel or postpone appointments in Toruń, almost 200 miles from Częstochowa.
Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, and members of the rightwing government led by the Law and Justice party were present at the mass.