Rome (EFE).- Pope Francis held an event today with thousands of young people at the “Papp László” stadium in Budapest Sportaréna and invited them to cultivate silence, but “not to stay glued to cell phones and social networks” because ” Life is real, not virtual, and it doesn’t happen on a screen.”
On his second day of the trip to Hungary, Francis went to the usual appointment with young people during his international trips and in this country he summoned more than 12,500 young people from the country, where about 60% consider themselves Catholic, and told them: “no be afraid of going against the current, of finding a time of silence every day to stop and pray”.
“Today everything tells them that they have to be fast, efficient, practically perfect, as if they were machines! But then we realize that we often run out of gas and don’t know what to do. It is very nice to be able to stop to refill the tank, to recharge batteries. But be careful: not to immerse yourself in your own melancholy or to ruminate over your sadness”, the Pope advised the boys and girls.
Life is real, not virtual
In this arena of major sporting events and concerts, the pope was hailed as a true star by young people as he rode among them in a golf cart, while among the gifts he was presented with a Rubik’s cube, the brilliant invention of the Hungarian architect Emo Rubik.
The Pope told them that “silence allows you to choose a book that you are not obliged to read, but that helps you to read the human heart; to observe nature so as not to be only in contact with things made by man and thus discover the beauty that surrounds us”.
“But silence is not to stay glued to the cell phone and social networks. No Please. Life is real, not virtual; It doesn’t happen on a screen, but in the world! Silence, then, is the door of prayer, and prayer is the door of love”, she added.
“You can’t just keep the phone. This, if you allow me, is something stupid ”, he told them and reiterated:“ do not make life virtual ”.
Invest in life’s big goals
Also in a series of councils, the Pope urged them to assert their own abilities because “today there is a great need for authentic people” and never to be “false people.”
The Pope listened to several testimonies from young people and asked them: “Do you have a talent? Surely you have. Don’t put it aside thinking that all you need to be happy is the bare minimum: a degree, a job to earn money, a little fun. No, put what you have on the line. Do you have a particular quality? Invest in it, without fear!
“Do you feel in your heart that you have a capacity that can do much good? Do you feel that it is beautiful to love the Lord, create a large family, help those in need? Do not think that they are unattainable desires, invest in the great goals of life! And then train. As? In dialogue with Jesus, who is the best coach possible,” added the pope.
The entry Pope Francis to young people in Budapest: Do not stay glued to the mobile was first published in EFE Noticias.