To the Young People Who Are Leaving!

Venezuela is a country blessed by God in many ways. And one of the greatest things our nation has is that it is full of young people. Millions of wonderful young people who were born in our land and who love their country madly.

With this crisis we are living through, some young people have already left, with tears in their eyes and in their hearts, leaving behind so many things, so many feelings, so many memories… Others are thinking of leaving. And there are also many others who do not want to leave, and a great many more who cannot.

Today I want to send a message to my dear young people who have left, or are leaving, Venezuela:

Wherever you go, work hard! Do honor to your name as Venezuelans! Prepare yourselves as well as you can and don’t waste a minute of your time! Keep God, your family and your Homeland present in your daily lives! When things get harder, when the cold hits you, when you start missing the country, its beaches, El Ávila, your friends or your family, remember that, who knows, perhaps very soon you will be back here again, rebuilding a great nation for your children and grandchildren.

Try by every means not to let the habits of the “developed world” make you lose your roots, your traditions, your faith, your solidarity, your humanity, or your Venezuelan way of being. Don’t let yourselves be carried away by hedonism (making pleasure the supreme goal of life). Fight not to fall into unbridled consumerism, which can turn you into people shut up in their own world, living only “to work, earn and spend.” And show the world what honesty means; show it that although corruption has rotted some people here, there are still a great many thoroughly honest Venezuelans.

Remember that God wants you there, in that other land, to bring your generous and helpful way of being, to live your faith and pass it on to many who believe God does not exist; to keep company with some who may enjoy a high “quality of life” but are very lonely.

To the Catholic young people, I remind you of the strength your Sunday Mass and Communion give you. And afterward, don’t forget to fire up your little parrillita (sounds better than “barbecue,” doesn’t it?) to share with your buddies. Don’t forget to play the music of one of the many musical geniuses Venezuela has given birth to! And if you can play an instrument, so much the better; don’t even think of leaving your cuatro and maracas here. You, more than anyone, know how Venezuelan music stirs anyone’s insides.

And always, always give great thanks to God, because you are privileged and have had the opportunity to go abroad to get to know and live in another culture. And never, never stop praying for all the Venezuelan children and young people who are in this land, that God and the Virgin may protect them from all harm. Don’t forget, either, to pray for ALL (and when I say ALL, I mean ALL!) your fellow Venezuelans, that God may help them to be better and that you may love them even more.

Be clear lights when it comes to defending the importance of a healthy family. You may not have to protect your lives from crime, but you must be unwavering defenders of life in the womb and of respect for natural death in the sick and the elderly.

Wear your name as Venezuelans with pride. And when your classmates see you, may they say: “Wow! These young people are so smart and so amazing! They enjoy everything, they’re friends with everyone! They work hard at their studies! They don’t complain! They defend their values and their faith! They came here on their own and they don’t fall into the vices of alcohol, drugs, pornography, sexual licentiousness and so on, and on top of that they help us and give us advice! They came to prepare themselves well, so they can serve others better!”

And never, at any moment, let anyone speak ill of your country to you, much less of Venezuelans. You, more than anyone, know that Venezuela is FULL of exemplary Venezuelans. And that even if some have made mistakes in their lives, they too are children of God, and therefore your brothers and sisters, whom you must love. Or had you never thought of that?

I will only finish by telling you: Work hard! Strive to be better every day and to defend your Values! Strengthen and share the wonderful faith you took with you from here! Always defend life and the family! And please, pray hard for your country, and for all of us who are here praying, fighting and waiting for you to rebuild our beloved Venezuela!