Standing ovation welcomed Pope Francis, when arrived at the László Papp Sports Arena, to the event, which was dedicated to meet with Hungarian Youth. The Holy Father got out of the car and walked up to the stage, stopping to talk to young people along the way. At the beginning of the event, Pope Francis received a ball signed by Ferenc Puskás, a Rubik’s cube, and a bottle of wine.

Before the papal speech, there were testimonials where a student named Bertalan Krabót, from Újszentiván said: God gaved real aim to his life. Another student: Tódor from a Jesuit high school in Miskolc, originating from Carpathian Ukraine, talked about how religion is not important to many people. He encouraged everyone to use the power of faith and love to overcome conflict and asked the Holy Father to pray for Hungarian youth. At the beginning of his speech, Pope Francis thanked all the participants.

It is important to have someone who provokes, who listens to your questions and doesn’t give easy, pre-packaged answers, but helps you courageously embrace the adventure of life in the search for great answers. Jesus did the same – emphasized Pope Francis. The Holy Father recalled from the Scriptures when Jesus faced the adulterous woman whom everyone was pointing fingers at. As he said, Jesus intervenes, the accusers go away, and He is left alone with her. Then He gently asks her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” And she responds, “No one, Lord!”

“God does not want to condemn, but to forgive. He is ready to lift us up every time we fall” – said Pope Francis, and together with the gathered crowd, chanted, “God always forgives.” The pontiff emphasized that we should also think of Mary Magdalene, who was the first to see the resurrected Jesus on Easter morning. She cried beside the empty tomb, and Jesus asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” And thus, deeply moved, Mary Magdalene opens her heart, tells Him of her pain, reveals her desires and her love.

Pope Francis also spoke about not being afraid to go against the tide. The Pope emphasized that Jesus does not tear down, but corrects our dreams on how to achieve them; He accepts our desire for something greater, but clings to one thing that we must keep in mind: greatness is not achieved by raising ourselves above others, but by lowering ourselves to serve others.

“Jesus would agree with one of your sayings, I hope I’m saying it right: “He who dares, wins” said Pope Francis in Hungarian, followed by thunderous applause. He believes that in order to be victorious, we need to take two fundamental steps, just like in sports: first, set higher goals, and second, train for them.

Source: vasarnap.hu