Dear sisters and
brothers in Christ Jesus:
It seems only a short time ago we were celebrating Memorial Day Weekend and looking forward to the summer months and young people anticipating the end of the academic year. How quickly time goes by, and now the Labor Day Weekend has just passed. Routines, so pleasantly interrupted by summer activities, now return. It is during this month of September that I keep particularly in prayer our young people, some beginning school, those in elementary, middle and high schools; those beginning colleges or venturing out into different careers and occupations; and those choosing to protect our freedom in military service or law enforcement.
As we grow older, time seems to pass ever more quickly. I think of the words penned by the poet and dramatist, Edward Young:
Procrastination is the thief of time;
Year after year it steals, till all are fled,
And to the mercies of a moment leaves
The vast concerns of an eternal scene
(Night Thoughts, 1742-45)
I pray that our youths and young adults early in their young lives come to understand and appreciate the ultimate purpose of life, which ought to unfold in parish religious-education programs and in the classrooms of our Catholic schools. In his homily on the occasion of the Holy Mass celebrated for the Jubilee of Youth on Aug. 3, 2025, Pope Leo XIV addressed these words to the one million young people in attendance:
“There is a burning question in our hearts, a need for truth that we cannot ignore, which leads us to ask ourselves, what is true happiness? What is the true meaning of life? What can free us from being trapped in meaninglessness, boredom and mediocrity?”
Our Holy Father did not believe that these young people were too young to contemplate these difficult questions. Rather, His Holiness knows that in their young lives they need a focus, a path to guide them into the future, a moral compass to make good rather than poor decisions that will scar their lives. Pope Leo XIV then went on to answer the questions he proposed:
“Dear young people: Jesus is our hope. It is He, as St. John Paul II said, ‘who stirs in us the desire to do something great with your lives …to commit … to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.’ (XV World Youth Day, Prayer Vigil, 19 August 2000). Let us remain united to Him, let us remain in His friendship always, cultivating it through prayer, adoration, Eucharistic Communion, frequent Confession, and generous charity … Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. You will then see the light of the Gospel growing every day, in you and around you.”
These words of Pope Leo XIV present the basic tenets of our Catholic faith that form the very foundation of the Christian life. Once, in earlier times, they were heard strongly proclaimed in every Catholic school classroom and CCD class (remember the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine!), at every religious event, in every parish and in every home. Now they again are being proclaimed with renewed vigor, echoing the message of previous pontiffs and our current Holy Father. Why? Because they are located in the timeless and infinite nature of Jesus Christ, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever! (cf. Hebrews 13:8).
During the same Jubilee of Youth gathering, during the Prayer Vigil with Young People on Aug. 2, 2025, in preparation for the Holy Mass on Aug. 3, Pope Leo XIV responded to a young person’s question: “How can we truly encounter the Risen Lord in our lives and be sure of His presence even in the midst of trials and uncertainties?” His Holiness answered:
“Dear young people, Jesus is the friend who always accompanies us in the formation of our conscience. If you truly want to encounter the Risen Lord, then listen to his word, which is the Gospel of salvation. Reflect on your way of living, and seek justice in order to build a more humane world. Serve the poor, and so bear witness to the good that we would always like to receive from our neighbors. Be united with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Adore Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, the source of eternal life. Study, work and love according to the example of Jesus, the good Teacher who always walks beside us. As we seek what is good, let us ask Him at every step: stay with us, Lord (cf. Lk 24:29). Stay with us, because without you we cannot do the good we desire. You want what is our good; indeed Lord you are our good. Those who encounter you also want others to encounter you, because your word is a light brighter than any star, illuminating even the darkest night. Pope Benedict XVI liked to say that those who believe are never alone. In other words, we encounter Christ in the Church, that is, in the communion of those who sincerely seek him.”
In these words, Pope Leo XIV united the work and efforts for justice and peace with union with Christ, the heart and soul of our lives. When we truly love the poor, the abandoned and the forgotten, we first meet their material needs, but then we must not forget their spiritual needs and invite them to the House of the Lord. In the presence of Jesus, they will find their dignity renewed and as they stand in communion with their brothers and sisters in prayer. How can we feed the body and not the soul? From the earliest of ages our young people must embrace their union of body, mind, heart and soul with the One who unites these essential elements of the human person.
Life in the church is so very necessary for our life in Christ. I rejoice every time I see families at Holy Mass with their infant children, bringing them to Jesus from the very beginning of their lives. Once again, Pope Leo XIV unites faith in Jesus with union with His Church. Shortly after being created a cardinal, he spoke these words in an interview:
“When I think of St. Augustine, his vision and understanding of what it means to belong to the Church, one of the first things that springs to mind is what he says about how you cannot say you are a follower of Christ without being part of the Church. He is the head.
“So people who think they can follow Christ ‘in their own way’ without being part of the body are, unfortunately, living a distortion of what is really an authentic experience. St. Augustine’s teachings touch every part of life, and help us to live in communion” (cited in “Leo XIV: Portrait of the First American Pope,” Matthew Bunson, p. 52).
As a new academic year unfolds, I pray that there will be a procession from the desk to the Church, from the CYO basketball courts and soccer fields to the Church, beginning with the procession from the family home to the Church. Anything less is an incomplete journey, a path that never reaches its final destination. And who suffers the loss? Our children. Pope Leo XIV is a son of St. Augustine, an Augustinian, and St. Augustine says it ever so well in the beginning lines of his Confessions:
“Great art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and of Thy wisdom there is no end. And man, being a part of Thy creation, desires to praise Thee, man, who bears about with him his mortality, the witness of his sin, even the witness that Thou ‘resistest the proud,’ — yet man, this part of Thy creation, desires to praise Thee. Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee” (Confessions, St. Augustine of Hippo, 1,1.5).
May our children, young adults and all people rest our hearts in the Sacred Heart of Christ, recalling these words adapted from the Preface of the Sacred Heart: “That heart has never ceased to beat with love for all who call upon the Savior with a contrite spirit. To His open heart the Savior invites all people to draw water in joy from the springs of everlasting life.”
Assuring you of my prayers and asking for a remembrance in your good prayers, I remain, invoking the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary; our patron saint, St. John Fisher; and St. Augustine,
Devotedly yours in Christ,
The Most Reverend
Salvatore R. Matano
Bishop of Rochester
