The Vatican released the Pope’s message for the 38th Youth Day on this November 14. On the years when an international gathering is not held, Youth Days are celebrated on a local level, generally on the feast of Christ the King.

The message is dedicated to hope, which the Pope calls “the little virtue.” The message is a lead-up to the Jubilee 2025, which has the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Here is an excerpt. The full text can be read here.

The French writer Charles Péguy, at the beginning of his poem on hope, spoke of the three theological virtues – faith, hope and charity – as three sisters who walk together:

“Hope, the little one, walks beside her two older sisters, practically unseen.
 …
 Yet she, the little one, drags everything along.
 Because Faith only sees what exists.
 And Charity only loves what exists.
 But Hope loves what will be.
 …
 She is the one who makes the others keep walking;
 She is the one who leads them on,
 and makes them all walk together”
                                         (The Portico of the Mystery of the Second Virtue).

I, too, am convinced that hope is humble, little, yet essential. Think for a moment. How can we live without hope? What would our days be like? Hope is the salt of our daily lives.

Read more:Holy Land cardinal asks young people to pray, to give space to hope

Read more:The Vatican presents its Jubilee 2025 preparations