“Go and make disciples of all nations”

“Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19)

This is the theme of World Youth Day 2013, happening now in Rio de Janeiro.  World Youth Day is a gathering of youth from all over the world for the purposes of putting trust in the young and what they bring to the Church today, gathering together as one people, and of meeting the international world on a human level.  World Youth Day is a sign of the strength and hope of the young church, and the grace they have been given to truly go and make disciples in a world that is hungry for it!  Pope Francis told the pilgrims that have gathered, “I have come today to confirm you in (the) faith … but I have also come to be confirmed by the enthusiasm of your faith.”

In the message that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI gave for this World Youth Day, he said “I am happy that you too, dear young people, are involved in this missionary outreach on the part of the whole Church. To make Christ known is the most precious gift that you can give to others…History shows how many young people, by their generous gift of self, made a great contribution to the Kingdom of God and the development of this world by proclaiming the Gospel. Filled with enthusiasm, they brought the Good News of God’s Love made manifest in Christ; they used the means and possibilities then available, which were far inferior to those we have today” (Message of Pope Benedict XVI for the 28th World Youth Day, 2013, 1).

As part of the World Youth Day events, a theater group asked to perform a play going along with this year’s theme, decided to write and produce their own on Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.  “’(Bl. Frassati’s) life is a perfect example for today’s youth, especially those that believe that living according to the world is the only logic that exists,’ the play’s director, Marcelo Rodriguez, told CNA July 23…According to Rodriguez, the title, ‘The Logic of God’ is the way that Frassati lived his devout life of holiness” (Catholic News Agency, July 24).  Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was a young Italian laymen, born to a wealthy Italian ambassador in the early 1900s.  He spent most of his short life serving the poor and working for social reform, dying at the age of 24 after contracting polio from one of the poor he was serving.  His life shows that holiness is for everyone, and is to be achieved in the living of everyday life. “’It is just living according to God – not according to the world,’ Rodriguez said” (Catholic News Agency, July 24). 


Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is a wonderful patron for the youth of today.  His enthusiasm and missionary spirit enriched the lives of those he touched, and he is an inspiration for all of us in these days when we face persecution of the faith all around us, both direct and subtle.  He said to the young people of his own time, “We are living through difficult days because the persecution against the Church is raging more than ever, but this should not frighten you, brave and good young people. Always remember that the Church is a divine institution and it cannot come to an end.” (Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: An Ordinary Christian, by Maria Di Lorenzo).  He also told them, “A Catholic cannot help but be happy; sadness should be banished from their souls. Suffering is not sadness, which is the worst disease. This disease is almost always caused by atheism, but the end for which we are created guides us along life's pathway, which may be strewn with thorns, but is not sad. It is happy even through suffering” (Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: An Ordinary Christian, by Maria Di Lorenzo). 

May the joy of being Christ’s followers give us strength as we heed the message of this World Youth Day and “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).  May you “hear, in the depths of your heart, Jesus’ call to proclaim his Gospel. As the great statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro shows, his heart is open with love for each and every person, and his arms are open wide to reach out to everyone. Be yourselves the heart and arms of Jesus! Go forth and bear witness to his love! Be a new generation of missionaries, impelled by love and openness to all!” (Message of Pope Benedict XVI for the 28th World Youth Day, 2013, 8).

Written by Kristen