Pope Francis told thousands of teenagers that happiness is not an app you can download on your mobile phone, on Sunday (April 24) at a mass to mark a weekend dedicated to youth.
He used the reference to connect to teens aged 13-16 who are converging on Rome for a Holy Year weekend for teenagers.
During his homily Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, he told a crowd of 100,000 that;
“Freedom is not always about doing what you want. In fact it is the gift of being able to choose the right way,” he said in a homily punctuated by regular bursts of applause from the crowd on a packed St Peter’s Square.
“Your happiness has no price. It cannot be bought and sold: it is not an application you download on a mobile phone. Even the latest version cannot help you to grow and become free in love.”
“Don’t believe those who would distract you from the real treasure, which you are, by telling you that life is beautiful only if you have many possessions,” Francis said.
“Be skeptical about people who want to make you believe that you are only important if you act tough, like the heroes in films, or when you wear the latest fashions.”
Yesterday evening (April 23), in a video message to the teens’ rally in a Rome stadium, Pope Francis told his audience that living without Jesus was like not having any signal. “Always be sure to go where there is a network: family, parish, school,” he said.
In an attempt to woo the younger generation, he launched an Instagram account just last month, which now has about 2.3 million followers.
This post first appeared on Innovation Village
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