I returned on Monday to Taizé after spending the last week with five of my brothers in Rome where we were among the hundreds of thousands of young people from all over the world who were taking part in the Catholic Jubilee of Youth. We had been asked to lead prayers during the week in a city centre church and also participate in an ecumenical prayer with two other communities on Friday evening.

It was a festival of faith in Christ which showed us that Christianity is never a kind of monoculture. A diversity of language, gifts, backgrounds and traditions has been a defining feature of the mystery of communion which is the Body of Christ, the Church, since the day of Pentecost. People of different cultures were together in Jerusalem and the Holy Spirit enabled the friends of Jesus to tell them of God’s love each in a tongue that they could understand.

Pope Leo came spontaneously at the end of the opening Eucharist and told the youth gathered there: “You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world”, as Jesus told his followers in Matthew 5. And he invited us all to pray for peace asking us to say out loud “We want peace throughout the world.” It was very moving.

Young people from Ukraine, Palestinians from Jerusalem, young Lebanese Christians and many others came to our prayers. We all came as pilgrims of hope – the theme of the Jubilee year – to Rome, but I ask them how can we become pilgrims of peace?

Coming back to Taizé, it was a joy to see you all here. You are from so many different countries and different Church traditions, that it is a real gift and encouragement. We can ask ourselves how is this possible? It is possible only because the Risen Christ brings us together and gives us the unity that is already present through him. Yes, we can live this sign of unity in Christ in order to become a ferment of peace in God’s wounded Creation of which our wounded human family is a part.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to the young Kenyans who have come to spend two weeks with us in Taizé. Your presence and testimony is important. I met also this week a woman from South Africa who returned here after her first visit in 1986. As she went home, she was arrested and imprisoned under the apartheid regime. But today her face is so peaceful that I asked myself, how can someone who has suffered so much be so radiant?

Yesterday was the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus. We read from Luke’s Gospel how Jesus took Peter, James and John up a mountain to pray. As he prayed, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes shone. Moses, who was known as a friend of God, and Elijah, who didn't die but was taken up into heaven, appeared with him bathed in light.

Peter, amazed at what is happening, suggests to Jesus that they build three tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, as if he wants them to stay there, but then comes a voice which says “This is my Son, whom I have chosen: listen to him” and the three friends see Jesus alone. We are then told that the three keep what they had seen to themselves. They told no-one.

As you return home after your stay in Taizé, reread this story. How has the light of Jesus touched you this week? What does it mean for you to listen to Jesus? How can you make space to do that in your everyday life? What are the experiences of prayer and faith that from this week that you need to keep silently in your hearts for a while in order to understand them better?

Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus can transform and transfigure our lives. One day, we may find ourselves praying the song of Zechariah, also filled with light. An elderly man in an occupied land, he rejoiced over an unexpected birth and celebrated “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79).

During morning prayer we have sung “The dawn from on high will break upon us to guide us into the ways of peace.” Let us continue to pray this ancient prayer and welcome the light of Christ so we may be transfigured day by day. Can the peace we receive lead us to become ourselves peacemakers, each in our own way?

And now Minu will say a few words to us.

Good evening everyone.

My name is Minu, and I’m from Kerala, in the southern part of India. I belong to the Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church. I’m a lawyer, and I currently work with the government in designing public projects and campaigns that are run by the volunteers. Our work is deeply rooted in people. We mobilize and train volunteers, equipping them with the skills they need to serve communities. Together, we conduct awareness programs and trainings across Kerala—on disaster management, anti-drug awareness, palliative care and so on.

In partnership with UNICEF, we train local people into community leaders to build resilience in the face of climate change. Our disaster management efforts has helped save lives in regions often struck by floods and landslides.

One of our most beautiful efforts is THRIVE—a project run by college students who work with children in tribal schools. Every weekend, they bring creative education modules—based on games, storytelling, art, and discovery. Over the years, we’ve seen these children rise—dreaming bigger, speaking louder, aiming higher. Many now want to become filmmakers, doctors, engineers, and artists. They begin to see themselves in a new light.

And it is here that I think of the Transfiguration of Jesus. When Jesus was transfigured before His disciples on the mountain, His divine nature shone through the ordinary. And those with Him saw not just who He was, but who He truly is.

This is the vision I carry into my work. Because I have seen transfigurations—not on mountaintops, but in tribal classrooms, in flooded villages, in quiet workshops. I have seen ordinary young people step forward and shine—becoming lights in their communities. I have seen children who once whispered now speak with hope. I have seen dignity unfold, leadership arise, dreams awaken.

That is what transfiguration means to me: a glimpse of the divine in the human. The holy breaking through the everyday.  This is my story. And in every part of it, I see the story of a God who still transfigures lives. Thank you.

Some of you may have seen the large groups of French young people who were with us on Monday. They were returning from the Youth Jubilee in Rome to Paris and the surrounding region. The Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, was here to welcome them.

Now they are preparing to welcome us from December 28 to January 1 in Paris and the neighbouring dioceses for our European meeting of young adults. It is not only the Catholic Church that will be opening its doors, but Protestant and Orthodox Churches as well. In our time where war is a reality for so many people and polarisation present in society, can this meeting be a sign of peace and unity, of hope and hospitality? Come and join us!

Finally, among us are some young people from Ukraine, as well as youth from the Middle East, Nicaragua and other countries where war and violence are present. Please come already at 8pm to church tomorrow as we pray, like every Friday evening, in silence for peace in our troubled world.

We will not forget the people of Gaza, of Ukraine, of Sudan, of Haiti, of Nicaragua or hostages who are being held against their will as we pray for peace and just solutions in these places were people are being killed each day. We will also pray for those living in countries with oppressive regimes who are struggling for freedom.