ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE PILGRIMAGE OF ALTAR SERVERS FROM FRANCE
PAUL VI AUDIENCE HALL
Please note that this document is an unofficial translation and is provided for
reference only.
[…] But serving the Mass requires a follow-up: “Serve and go!”. You know that
Jesus is present in the people of the brothers we meet. After serving Jesus at Mass,
he sends you to serve him in the people you meet during the day, especially if they
are poor and disadvantaged, because he is particularly united with them.
Perhaps you have friends who live in difficult neighborhoods or who face great
suffering, even addictions; you know young people who are uprooted, migrants or
refugees. I urge you to welcome them generously, to get them out of their
loneliness and to make friends with them.
Many young people your age need someone to tell them that Jesus knows them,
that he loves them, that he forgives them, that he shares their problems, that he
looks at them with tenderness without judging them. With your courage, your
enthusiasm, your spontaneity, you can reach them. I invite you to be close to each
other. I insist on this: closeness among you, closeness to the members of your
families, closeness to other young people. Avoid falling into the temptation of
withdrawing into yourself, of selfishness, of locking yourself up in your world, in
small groups, in virtual social networks. You better prefer real friendships, not
virtual ones, which are illusory and imprison you and separate you from reality. […]
