'We live in a world obsessed with appearances' Cork bishop tells youths in Rome

Bishop Fintan Gavin called on young people at the Jubilee of Youth’s evening to join the Catholic church.

Bishop Gavin, Bishop of Cork and Ross and chair of the Council for Evangelisation, Catechetics and Pastoral Renewal of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, delivered a homily on Thursday to almost 600 Irish young people at the Jubilee of Youth’s evening at the Instituto Santa Maria in Rome.

In his address, Bishop Gavin said that “we live in a world obsessed with appearances, likes, followers, and highlight reels, but so often, behind the filters and the noise, we carry anxiety, insecurity, burnout, or a sense of being lost”.

“We wonder if we’re enough, if we’re on the right path, if God even sees us,” he said.

“Like the disciples on the mountain, you’ve stepped out of your ordinary rhythm and glimpsed something bigger: not just the beauty of Rome, but the beauty of being at church together, young and alive in faith.

“The joy of being with others who share your values, a space to be yourself with a sense of joy and fun and opportunity to reflect on life’s bigger questions.

“A depth of reflection that can so often be difficult to find in our culture today in Ireland.”

Bishop Gavin went on to share a number of guidelines he believes will help young people who join the church.

“I want to offer you three practices/movements which I would like to frame as three friendships that I believe can help us,” said Bishop Gavin.

“One, communion [and] friendship with Jesus - being a disciple means we have to take time to get to know Jesus, deepening that relationship with Christ.

“Two, community [and] friendship with others - trying to live your faith in isolation is nearly impossible, you need community, you need others who believe, who encourage you, challenge you, and stand with you.

“Three, charity [and] friendship with the stranger - our Christian faith isn’t private, we need to share it. Being a person of faith in Ireland today means having the courage to stand out from the crowd and go against the dominant secular culture.”