God hears your prayers for peace: Francis says to the approximately 700 children and young people of the community founded by Don Oreste Benzi Pope John XXIII. were conceived: In your “family homes” even those who have none You will find a father and a mother
Adriana Masotti – Vatican City
“Thank you Don Oreste!”. Pope Francis repeats it aloud to the children and young people whom he greets in the Paul VI Hall. met and on this occasion “the great family of the community of Pope John XXIII. A welcoming reality in real families, where a father and mother devote themselves full-time to minors and people in difficulty, without discrimination. (Hear the service with the Pope’s voice)
God knows each of us by name
Some time ago, in the face of the audience, the Pope took the stories and questions of some boys and found that each one was introduced by name. Francis comments: “It is so willed by God, who knows each of us by name”. And he continues:
We are not anonymous, we are not photocopies, we are all original! And this is how we must be: originals, not photocopies, said Blessed Carlo Acutis, a boy like you. God knows us one by one, with our name and our face, which is unique. Of course we have our limits too; some of us unfortunately have to bear severe restrictions. But that does not detract from a person’s worth: everyone is unique, they are a son or daughter of God, everyone is a brother or sister of Jesus, but unique.
Pope Francis is greeted by some children
God’s love allows us to grow in abundance
A Christian community that looks at people in this way helps us to see each one with the same gaze of God, which is a gaze of love, the Pope affirms. God looks at our hearts and sees in us Jesus, his son.
Jesus is the perfect man, we know that, he is the fullness of humanity, and the love of God allows us to grow to this perfect measure, to fullness. We know that we can only achieve it in heaven, but even in this life love matures us in this way. It’s a bit like the seed that sprout and grows in the field with the help of rain and sun, develops and becomes, for example, a beautiful ear of corn.
The “family houses” sought by Don Oreste.
There are several signs, Francis continues, that show when a person is received with love, one of which is a smile. The smile says that this boy or girl “feels loved, loved, welcome, welcome just the way he is”, and the stories of the little ones being welcomed by the community tell of that smile. Reflecting on the experience shared by many of those present, that of the family home, the Pope recalled that this reality was born “from the mind and heart of Don Oreste Benzi”.
He was a priest who looked at young people with the eyes of Jesus, with the heart of Jesus, and because he was close to the disobedient, to the outcasts, he understood that they lacked the love of a father and a mother, the affection of brothers .
Participants of the meeting in the Paul VI hall
A family where everyone finds love and care
Pope Francis emphasizes the fact that the family home is a full-time welcoming reality made up of people who God has given this calling to become fathers and mothers to those who do not have families.
In it there is room for everyone: minors, people with disabilities, the elderly, Italians or foreigners and anyone looking for a solid starting point for a new start, a family to reunite with. The family is the place to take care of everyone, both welcoming and welcoming people, because it is the answer to the innate need for relationships that every human being has.
The meeting of the community of Pope John XXIII. with Francis
God hears your prayers
The Pope then addresses some of the children who have told him about themselves, naming them: Francesco at the age of six, Biagio at the age of 14, Sara at the age of 13, who fled Iraq: “ Keep in your heart your holy desire for children to have their childhood stolen: God will help you!” he tells her. It collects prayers and wishes from others and closes with a thank you to the children and young people who meet online every Sunday to pray the rosary.
I want to tell you: your prayer for peace, even if it doesn’t seem like it, God hears it; and we believe that God gives peace today immediately! God gives it to us, but it’s up to us to accept it, in our hearts and in our lives. Rest assured that God hears your prayer and keep going!