My dear friends,

It is with immense joy that I greet you today, young people together with priests, religious and bishops from all over the country, on the occasion of the Australian Catholic Youth Festival. Be assured of my prayers that the Lord will bless your activities and make this a grace-filled time for everyone involved.

Being young is a wonderful time in life because there is so much to learn and experience. At the same time, there are many challenges to face as you try to grow and mature your character within a social context. Finding one’s place in the world seems to be even harder today, as societies are constantly changing, traditional values are frequently looked down upon, and technology while containing positive elements can also leave us more isolated from each other.

As Christians, before listening to our friends or the wider-culture, we should first turn to God, our Heavenly Father, who, at the moment of our baptism, made each one of us his beloved son or daughter. Reflecting on how our fundamental relationship with God gives true meaning to our lives, Pope Benedict XVI said, “We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”[1] Our lives, therefore, find their ultimate purpose in becoming who God made us to be, in other words, by living out his will in our lives.

Saint Catherine of Siena once said, “Be who God made you to be and you will set the world on fire.”[2] We can see this truth in the shining example of all the saints, who demonstrate what it means to follow God’s will in their lives, each in their own unique way. We can call to mind our two new young saints, Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, whom I recently canonized. Pier Giorgio is remembered for being physically active, joking around with friends and helping the poor. Whereas, Carlo is portrayed in a more reserved and reverent manner, who wanted to use his computer skills to promote knowledge of Eucharistic miracles online. Yet, they both had a profound relationship with God and sought to do his will in their lives; as a result, we can see from their photos that they radiated a deep joy in their eyes.

Saint Carlo Acutis famously said, “All people are born as originals, but many die as photocopies”. Do not let that happen to you! Each one of you has been created with a unique personality, possessing different strengths, weaknesses, talents, and skills, and you have a specific life journey to live out these qualities with joy.

Do not try merely to imitate others; instead, listen to what God is calling you to be and do. In particular, I am sure that the Lord is calling some of you to serve him in the priesthood or consecrated life. Please have the courage to say ‘yes’!

As you know, the only way to hear our Heavenly Father’s voice is to grow closer to him, especially through prayer and the sacraments. Moreover, as with any other relationship, to be a better daughter, son, brother, or sister, we have to live out those relationships with greater love, commitment and sacrifice. Take inspiration from the saints who profoundly lived out their identity as children of God and always kept him at the centre of their lives.

Finally, when all of you return home at the end of the Youth Festival, please remember that what you learn and experience ought to be incorporated into your daily discipleship. In this regard, I encourage you to build networks and friendships with one another and work together to build up the Kingdom of God in your local areas. As Saint Paul teaches us, the Body of Christ is united even with many different members, so there is a place and a need for each of you, and for the unique contribution only you can make (cf. 1 Cor 12:14-20). At the same time, never be discouraged when you fall in your discipleship, for with God’s grace – and encountering him in the sacrament of confession – this too can become a moment for renewal and growth in holiness.

My Dear friends, with these few words, and entrusting you to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, and Saint Mary Mackillop, I gladly impart to each of you my heartfelt blessing.

And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit come down on you and remain with you forever. Amen.

Good morning everyone!

My name is George, and I am the Bishop of Bunbury.

I have been a priest for 32 years and I have worked alongside you young people for all of these years.

In schools, in parishes, and even in Rehab programs walking with those struggling with addictions.

Young people have always been at the heart of my ministry.

It was less than a year ago when Pope Francis asked me to become a bishop and I’m still learning how to be a bishop.  In fact, some of the longer serving bishops still like to call me the “baby bishop”!

So, I ask you, from my heart: to please pray for me, that I may be a good bishop, a shepherd after the Heart of Jesus.

I’ve come here from the South West of WA with 53 young people, (where are you?) and I am so very proud of them  as I am of you all here today.

You are the Church alive, the Church young, the Church filled with hope.

I want to tell you something very simple and very true:

Jesus is your friend. He loves you as you are.

Actually, let me say it more personally: He is in love with you. He delights in you. You are amazing in His eyes.

Sometimes young people ask, “What does God want from me?”

Today, the answer is clear: God wants you.

Your heart.

Your life.

Your gifts.

Your story — even the messy parts.

He doesn’t ask you to be perfect.

He doesn’t expect you to have everything figured out.

He invites you to trust Him.

Trust Him the way that we heard in the last Sunday gospel the way   the good thief trusted Him on the Cross — with honesty, with humility, and with hope.

And Jesus gives you the same promise He gave that man:

“My kingdom is open to you. My mercy is for you. My Spirit will guide you.”

So today, I pray for each of you:

That the Holy Spirit may make you strong when life becomes difficult…

gentle when the world becomes harsh…

faithful when others walk away…

and joyful as you discover the mission Christ has prepared just for you.

Always remember: Jesus is not far away.

He is beside you.

He walks with you.

He lifts you up.

And He calls you deeper into His love.

Have a beautiful festival.

Let Jesus speak to your heart.

And know that the Church — and your baby bishop — is cheering for you.

There is only one place in the Gospels where Jesus unashamedly lets loose in all his joy, and we have just heard it.

As the gospel began,

 Filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, Jesus said: ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to [these little ones].’

It was not a group of Preps or pre-schoolers Jesus was rejoicing over. Those ‘little ones’ he was speaking of were his disciples, who had gathered around him on returning from their pilgrimages out into the towns around Galilee.

Jesus had sent them there to announce the closeness of God’s kingdom among the people. They had now returned with the power of God’s Spirit flowing through them. Their elation was so infectious Jesus was overcome with his own outburst of joy.

The ‘little ones’ of Jesus’ joy were – and are – those who were open enough, trusting enough, humble enough to receive the gift of God’s Spirit.​

They were not those with the impressive CVs. They were – and are – those who had become his friends and disciples.

In other words, Jesus was – and is – rejoicing over people like you. Not because you have everything sorted out, but because you have set out on the journey with him: open-hearted, on the way, willing to be saints among the Saints of God’s pilgrim people.

The socials algorithm says: young people need to re-make themselves, to assume images that they’re not.

Jesus says: be happy among the little ones who have discovered they are loved by God, and who find they belong to God’s family. It’s OK to be trusting enough to receive Christ’s friendship, and to know his joy in you. Be searchers for an eternal horizon, not a shrunken enclosure. Be the ones who know that you need Him and yearn for his healing.

Happy are you – blessed are you – who have seen the face of Jesus and now walk with him. It is the path to life, and to a heart of joy.

I wonder how many of you are anxious about the future. Mental health? Personal identity? Family struggles? The path ahead? The state of our planet? Your place in society? Sometimes it can feel as if our lives are a cut-back, dried-out, death-like tree stump.

Into that experience, I want to encourage you to hear Isaiah speaking to us: “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse.” From that stump of Jesse, the life of Jesus sprang forth. Out of what looks done and dusted, dead, God makes something new grow.

Our heavenly Father, who delights in you, wants us to grow from death to life, from fear to hope. We are poised in anticipation, eager with hope for the life we are offered in Christ. Look around you: thousands of young people, praying, singing, listening, serving.

Very few folded arms left among you! You are not a dead stump; you are the Spirit’s new shoots. In a world that often trades in distrust, anxiety and the fear of not fitting, the Spirit has been growing in you: mercy instead of refusal, listening instead of shouting, serving instead of influencing.

To be among God’s young ones with a vision for the future, to grow new shoots of life and hope that our world so desperately needs, to rest in the joy that Jesus has for each of you: these are the things in the backpack of a pilgrim of hope.

A tourist comes for the experience, the photos, the Insta threads, but not for life. The pilgrim lets the journey change their heart and renew their lives.

It is Jesus, the One who is forever young, who is pointing out to you this horizon of life and hope, encouraging us to look out towards where He is striding in to greet us. Go out to greet Him; he’s waiting to welcome you!