Young People Prepared for the Coming of the Lord

Father Roger Luis – Photo: Daniel Mafra/cancaonova.com

The purpose of this meeting is to be ‘ Jovems Sarados [Youth healed] with your feet here on Earth, but with your eyes to Heaven; also because the coming of the Lord is imminent.

The Church calls us to account, she invites us to live with the experience of determination that we wait the coming of the Lord, and we hope on this great day he will come to those who walk in His presence, that fall, but rise again. This will not be a day of horror or sadness, but of jubilation and joy.

We need to look at the early Church, that of the first century, in order to learn how to live in the 21st century. How were the Christians of the first century, the Church which was born and lived with the Lord? They lived every day as if He was coming back that day in an eschatological tension.

Kingdom of the world VS Kingdom of heaven

When we find Him, He starts within us a clash of kingdoms. The kingdoms of this world, against Kingdom of Heaven. When we meet Jesus, the Kingdom of God needs to take up the space in our hearts, which often was given to the kingdoms of this world. We will live this conflict until the last of our days.

In Canção Nova, starting with the community’s founder, Monsignor Jonas Abib, we declare a war: the system in the world against the system of God.

Pope Francis, in Paraguay, said this: “… That’s what the world needs, young people with hope and strong of spirit; youth not weaklings, neither yes, nor no (undecided). We don’t want young people who tire quickly or those who are bored “.

Watch and pray is the call of the Church. I don’t know if He  will come in our generation, but I live and need to live as if Jesus came back today. We need to watch our senses, our relations, what kind of friends we are seeking.

Young people be healed, be honest with God. Look at the commitment that you have made with him. We believe in you, we believe you are a testament to the young people of the 21st century.

Fr. Roger Luis

See an excerpt of preaching in its original Portuguese: