“God has plans for a future of peace for you, not of misfortune; God wants to give you a future and a hope.” [1]
Today, a great many people are longing for a future of peace, for humanity to be freed from threats of violence.
If some are gripped by worry about the future and find themselves at a standstill, there are also young people all over the world who are inventive and creative.
These young people do not let themselves be caught up in a spiral of gloom. They know that God did not create us to be passive. For them, life is not subject to a blind destiny. They are aware that scepticism and discouragement have the power to paralyze human beings.
And so they are searching, with their whole soul, to prepare a future of peace and not of misfortune. More than they realize, they are already making of their lives a light that shines around them.
Some are bearers of peace and trust in situations of crisis and conflict. They keep going even when trials or failures weigh heavily on their shoulders. [2]
On some summer evenings in Taizé, under a sky laden with stars, we can hear the young people through our open windows. We are constantly astonished that there are so many of them. They search; they pray. And we say to ourselves: their aspirations to peace and trust are like these stars, points of lights that shine in the night.
We live at a time when many people are asking: what is faith? Faith is a simple trust in God, an indispensable surge of trusting undertaken countless times over in the course of our life.
All of us can have doubts. They are nothing to worry about. Our deepest desire is to listen to Christ who whispers in our hearts, “Do you have hesitations? Don’t worry; the Holy Spirit remains with you always.” [3]
Some, to their surprise, have made this discovery: God’s love can come to fulfilment even in a heart touched by doubts. [4]
One of the first things Christ says in the Gospel is this: “Happy the simple-hearted!” [5] Yes, happy those who head towards simplicity, simplicity of heart and simplicity of life.
A simple heart attempts to live in the present moment, to welcome each day as God’s today.
Does not the spirit of simplicity shine out in serene joy, and also in cheerfulness?
A simple heart does not claim to understand everything about faith on its own. It says to itself, “Others understand better what I have trouble grasping and they help me to continue on my way.” [6]
Simplifying our life enables us to share with the least fortunate, in order to alleviate suffering where there is disease, poverty, famine… [7]
Our personal prayer is also simple. Do we think that many words are needed in order to pray? [8] No. A few words, even inept ones, are enough to entrust everything to God, our fears as well as our hopes.
By surrendering ourselves to the Holy Spirit, we will find the way that leads from worry to confident trust. [9] And we tell him:
“Holy Spirit, enable us
to turn to you at every moment.
So often we forget that you dwell within us,
that you pray in us, that you love in us.
Your presence in us is trust
and constant forgiveness.”
Yes, the Holy Spirit kindles a glimmer of light within us. However faint it may be, it awakens in our hearts the desire for God. And the simple desire for God is already prayer.
Prayer does not make us less involved in the world. On the contrary, nothing is more responsible than to pray. The more we make our own a prayer which is simple and humble, the more we are led to love and to express it with our life.
Where can we find the simplicity indispensable for living out the Gospel? Some words of Christ enlighten us. One day he said to his disciples, “Let the little children come to me; the realities of God are for those who are like them.” [10]
Who can express adequately what some children can communicate by their trusting? [11]
And so we would like to say to God: “God, you love us: turn us into people who are humble; give us great simplicity in our prayer, in human relationships, in welcoming others…”
Jesus, the Christ, came to earth not to condemn anyone but to open paths of communion for human beings.
For two thousand years Christ has been present through the Holy Spirit, [12] and his mysterious presence is made tangible in a visible communion [13] that brings together women, men and young people who are called to go forward together, without separating from one another. [14]
And yet throughout their history Christians have experienced many upheavals: separations have arisen between those who nonetheless professed faith in the same God of love.
Re-establishing communion is urgent today; it cannot continually be put off until later, until the end of time. [15] Will we do all we can for Christians to awaken to the spirit of communion? [16]
There are Christians who, without waiting, are already in communion with one another in the places where they live, quite humbly, quite simply. [17]
Through their own life, they would like to make Christ present for many others. They know that the Church does not exist for itself but for the world, to place within it a ferment of peace.
“Communion” is one of the most beautiful names of the Church. In it, there can be no harsh words exchanged but only transparency, heartfelt kindness, compassion…and the gates of holiness swing open.
The Gospel lets us discover this surprising reality: God creates neither fear nor worry. All God can do is love us.
By the presence of the Holy Spirit, God comes to transfigure our hearts.
And in a simple prayer, we can sense that we are never alone: the Holy Spirit sustains in us a communion with God, not just for a fleeting moment but right on into the life which never ends.
