Vatican City, Jun 13, 2018 / 02:02 am
Pope Francis said Wednesday that the greatest danger modern youth face is not the array of problems that surround them, but rather, the temptation to mediocrity – preferring to stay immobile rather than making a leap toward the next step.
Pointing to the Gospel reading from Mark in which a rich young man kneels in front of Jesus and asks how to obtain eternal life, the pope said this question "is the challenge of every existence: the desire for a full, infinite life."
Many young people today seek life, but end up destroying themselves by pursuing worldly desires, he said, noting that some people would say it is better "to turn this impulse off, the impulse to live, because it's dangerous."
However, "I would like to say, especially to young people: our worst enemy is not concrete problems, no matter how serious or dramatic: the greatest danger is a bad spirit of adaption, which is not meekness or humility, but mediocrity, timidity."