So, for this edition, I am building my reflection on a couple of quotes that stand out to me in his Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit (Christ lives), written in 2019 but directed particularly to young people following the Synod on Youth. It gives me great joy that the Church is young because of the number of young people involved at so many different levels not only in our many campus ministries but also at Camp Tekakwitha, a place in the country for rejuvenation and hope for young people of our diocese. Those who’ve experienced the camping situation also have lasting memories of a joyful adolescence as children of God.

The faith that we professed at Easter time is a bold exclamation mark on our lives as Christians. We believe “Christ is alive,” or as Pope Francis said in a halting voice in his Easter blessing Urbi et Orbi (to the city of Rome and the world) from the balcony of St. Peter’s on Easter morning, “Christ is risen!” It was all he could muster, but something that he truly believed. The words were few, but that in itself was the message of hope to a world seeking and looking for peace and a new direction.

Our belief in this timeless Easter message is a gift for today, especially through our young people. In those filled with enthusiasm, curiosity, and boundless energy, we find a new excitement because of the witness young people provide for us today. I thank them for their fervor of faith.

Pope Francis reminded us that “being young, more than a question of age, is a state of the heart.” That youthfulness — the energy, the daring, the openness to wonder — can be found in anyone who is alive in Christ, but it is especially radiant in young people whose lives are just beginning to unfold and mature. Their questions, their restlessness, and their dreams are not distractions from the faith; rather, they are essential to it. Their imagination keeps the Church from growing old.

In a world that often tries to define people by their status, their productivity, or their image, Christus Vivit cuts through with a liberating truth: “You are not defined by what others say about you, but by what God says about you.” And what does God say? He says you are beloved and chosen. You are not an afterthought, but you are “a vital heartbeat in the Church’s mission.”

“Do not be afraid to dream big things,” Pope Francis tells young people. It’s not just encouragement, but it’s a challenge to lead us all into deeper hope. The Church “depends on the imagination and dreams of young people” to keep us in the springtime of life. Their questions stir us to think. Their courage calls us to act. Their vision pushes us beyond what is comfortable toward what is possible for a new generation of believers.

This so-called springtime of life isn’t a fleeting season. It is renewed every time a young person says “yes” to Christ, to love, to mercy, to justice, to joy; and it’s a reminder to all of us, no matter our age, that in Christ we are always young. Thank you, young people of the Diocese of Birmingham!