Assisi, Italy, Oct 4, 2013 / 13:25 pm
Pope Francis concluded his one-day pilgrimage to Assisi with a visit to young people, encouraging them to reject a "provisional culture" that fears making definitive commitments.
"I want to tell you not to be afraid of taking definitive steps in life," he said to the cheering crowds of youth on Oct. 4. "Jesus didn't save us provisionally, he saved us definitively!"
The Pope spoke of how both the married and consecrated life are vocations from God.
"Two Christians who marry have recognized in their story of love the call of the Lord," he said. "The sacrament of matrimony envelops this (human) love in the grace of God, rooting it in God himself."