Pope Francis Tells Children "We must be a sign of peace, share, sow goodness, listen to others, play with others, but not argue with others... Let's say it together: We must be a sign of peace!" in Verona
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Pope Francis answered questions of children and young people in Verona on Saturday morning, during his one-day pastoral visit to the northern Italian city, during which he responded to three questions, before leading the 5,000 of them in prayer.
VISIT OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS IN VERONA
MEETING OF THE HOLY FATHER WITH CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Piazza San Zeno (Verona)
Saturday, May 18, 2024
_________________________________________
POPE FRANCIS:
Well… Good morning!
Now let's start talking... your friends will ask questions...
Question no. 1:In the gospel Jesus calls his disciples to follow him even if they are not perfect. How do we hear his call?
POPE FRANCIS
This question is a very important question. How can I hear Jesus' call? Because we see that in the Gospel Jesus calls the disciples who were not perfect, they were ordinary people, and I, who am a little girl, an ordinary child, how can I hear Jesus' call? Tell me something: when you are with dad, with mom, with grandparents, do you feel good? [They answer: Yes!] and you feel there that you have love: the love of father, mother, grandfather, grandmother. When you do a good work, for example if you have two sweets you give one to the other, or if you see a needy person and give them a handout, do you feel good? [They answer: Yes! A lot!]
Muy bien… And when you tell a lie, for example, do you feel good? [They answer: No!] Well done, well done... And when you argue with your brother and sister, do you feel good? [They answer: No!] You have seen that you are capable of "feeling": feeling good, feeling bad if someone listens or does something. When Jesus speaks – listen to this carefully – when Jesus speaks he makes us feel good, he makes us feel joy in our hearts. You have understood? Yes! Now I ask: when Jesus speaks, how do we feel? [They answer: Good!] How?... [They answer: Good!] Well done! And so we are able to hear the call of Jesus, that Jesus makes us feel good. And if a person who doesn't love you comes to you and slaps you twice, how do you feel? [They answer: Bad!]. And if the devil comes to tell you something, how do you feel? [They answer: Bad!] So you have understood well what we feel when Jesus comes and what we feel when something bad is done. You got it right? [They answer: Yes!]. When Jesus comes how do we feel? [They answer: Good!]; And if we see or do a bad thing, how do we feel? [They answer: bad!] Ah, well done! Courage! Compliments!
Question 2: Jesus sends his disciples all over the world, how can we children be a sign of peace in the world?
POPE FRANCIS
Jesus sends his disciples all over the world, this is true. Because Jesus said to the Apostles: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”. Jesus sends the disciples, the Apostles and all of us to preach in the world, of course... But the question is: how can we now be a sign of peace in the world? You know that in this world, right now the world is at war. Do you know this? There are many wars, many wars, both in Ukraine and in the Holy Land, in Africa, in Myanmar... Many, many wars... And does Jesus preach war or peace? [They answer: Peace!]. And what do we want to do, war or peace? [They answer: peace!] That is, we must be a sign of peace, right? [They answer: Yes] But if you argue with your classmate, will you be a sign of peace? [They answer: No]. He doesn't feel well… [They answer: No!]. We must be a sign of peace, share, sow goodness, listen to others, play with others, but not argue with others... Let's say it together: We must be a sign of peace! Together! [They answer: We must be a sign of peace!] You are good, you are good! Compliments!
Now the last question…
Question 3: How can we third graders, who are having the "Passage Party", maintain our faith in times of difficulty and not be afraid to make choices that go against the grain?
POPE FRANCIS
Good boy! A difficult question... How can we maintain faith in moments where everything is dark, of difficulty. For example, how can we maintain faith in the face of the death of a very dear person, grandparents, uncles or even sometimes dad, mom? In these difficulties, we difficult, hard times, how can we keep the faith? Indeed, how can we go against the current, because they tell us: “But you go ahead? Steal this…”. Can it be stolen? [They answer: No!] No? You're not convinced... Can it be stolen? [They answer: No!] And in order not to do bad things, you have to go against the grain, have you understood this? [Answer: Yes!] Do things that maybe someone else doesn't do. How can you overcome the fear of going against the grain? I'll ask you this question. Some brave people who answer... How can you go against the grain? [Someone replies: Listen to your heart!] Well done! Another… [Someone replies: Have courage!] Well, okay, stronger… [They reply: Have courage!] Well done, well done! That's how I like it... Listen to me: don't be afraid to go against the grain if you want to do something good, do you understand? [They answer: Yes!] Should we be afraid of going against the grain? [They answer: No!] Ah, you're good! Thank you dear, thank you!
Now let's pray together, let's pray together. "Our father…". Now in silence we receive the blessing. [Blessing]
In our life, should we bless or curse? [They answer: Bless!] Bless the devil too? [They answer: No!] Ah, okay... you're good! After you! Thank you!
Piazza San Zeno (Verona)
Saturday, May 18, 2024
_________________________________________
POPE FRANCIS:
Well… Good morning!
Now let's start talking... your friends will ask questions...
Question no. 1:In the gospel Jesus calls his disciples to follow him even if they are not perfect. How do we hear his call?
POPE FRANCIS
This question is a very important question. How can I hear Jesus' call? Because we see that in the Gospel Jesus calls the disciples who were not perfect, they were ordinary people, and I, who am a little girl, an ordinary child, how can I hear Jesus' call? Tell me something: when you are with dad, with mom, with grandparents, do you feel good? [They answer: Yes!] and you feel there that you have love: the love of father, mother, grandfather, grandmother. When you do a good work, for example if you have two sweets you give one to the other, or if you see a needy person and give them a handout, do you feel good? [They answer: Yes! A lot!]
Muy bien… And when you tell a lie, for example, do you feel good? [They answer: No!] Well done, well done... And when you argue with your brother and sister, do you feel good? [They answer: No!] You have seen that you are capable of "feeling": feeling good, feeling bad if someone listens or does something. When Jesus speaks – listen to this carefully – when Jesus speaks he makes us feel good, he makes us feel joy in our hearts. You have understood? Yes! Now I ask: when Jesus speaks, how do we feel? [They answer: Good!] How?... [They answer: Good!] Well done! And so we are able to hear the call of Jesus, that Jesus makes us feel good. And if a person who doesn't love you comes to you and slaps you twice, how do you feel? [They answer: Bad!]. And if the devil comes to tell you something, how do you feel? [They answer: Bad!] So you have understood well what we feel when Jesus comes and what we feel when something bad is done. You got it right? [They answer: Yes!]. When Jesus comes how do we feel? [They answer: Good!]; And if we see or do a bad thing, how do we feel? [They answer: bad!] Ah, well done! Courage! Compliments!
Question 2: Jesus sends his disciples all over the world, how can we children be a sign of peace in the world?
POPE FRANCIS
Jesus sends his disciples all over the world, this is true. Because Jesus said to the Apostles: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”. Jesus sends the disciples, the Apostles and all of us to preach in the world, of course... But the question is: how can we now be a sign of peace in the world? You know that in this world, right now the world is at war. Do you know this? There are many wars, many wars, both in Ukraine and in the Holy Land, in Africa, in Myanmar... Many, many wars... And does Jesus preach war or peace? [They answer: Peace!]. And what do we want to do, war or peace? [They answer: peace!] That is, we must be a sign of peace, right? [They answer: Yes] But if you argue with your classmate, will you be a sign of peace? [They answer: No]. He doesn't feel well… [They answer: No!]. We must be a sign of peace, share, sow goodness, listen to others, play with others, but not argue with others... Let's say it together: We must be a sign of peace! Together! [They answer: We must be a sign of peace!] You are good, you are good! Compliments!
Now the last question…
Question 3: How can we third graders, who are having the "Passage Party", maintain our faith in times of difficulty and not be afraid to make choices that go against the grain?
POPE FRANCIS
Good boy! A difficult question... How can we maintain faith in moments where everything is dark, of difficulty. For example, how can we maintain faith in the face of the death of a very dear person, grandparents, uncles or even sometimes dad, mom? In these difficulties, we difficult, hard times, how can we keep the faith? Indeed, how can we go against the current, because they tell us: “But you go ahead? Steal this…”. Can it be stolen? [They answer: No!] No? You're not convinced... Can it be stolen? [They answer: No!] And in order not to do bad things, you have to go against the grain, have you understood this? [Answer: Yes!] Do things that maybe someone else doesn't do. How can you overcome the fear of going against the grain? I'll ask you this question. Some brave people who answer... How can you go against the grain? [Someone replies: Listen to your heart!] Well done! Another… [Someone replies: Have courage!] Well, okay, stronger… [They reply: Have courage!] Well done, well done! That's how I like it... Listen to me: don't be afraid to go against the grain if you want to do something good, do you understand? [They answer: Yes!] Should we be afraid of going against the grain? [They answer: No!] Ah, you're good! Thank you dear, thank you!
Now let's pray together, let's pray together. "Our father…". Now in silence we receive the blessing. [Blessing]
In our life, should we bless or curse? [They answer: Bless!] Bless the devil too? [They answer: No!] Ah, okay... you're good! After you! Thank you!
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