Som de gjør hvert år, kom ungdommer fra den katolske ungdomsorganisasjnen Azione Cattolica Ragazzi på julebesøk til paven torsdag 21/12. Paven hilste på de unge – som vi ser på bildet – og holdt også en liten tale for dem, der han snakket om betydningen av julens budskap i vårt daglige liv. Her er litt av talen hans i engelsk oversettelse:
This Divine Baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger with the maternal care of His mother Mary, reveals all the goodness and beauty of God. He shows the tender boundless love with which God surrounds each of us.
That is why we celebrate Christmas, reliving the experience of the shepherds in Bethlehem. Together with all the fathers and mothers who labor each day facing sacrifices, together with all children, all the afflicted and the poor, we celebrate, because with the birth of Jesus, our heavenly Father has responded to the need for truth, forgiveness and peace in our hearts.
He has responded with a love so great that it is always surprising: no one could have imagined it if Jesus Himself had not revealed it. The wonder that we experience in the spell of Christmas is reflected to some degree in the miracle of every birth and invites us to see the Baby Jesus in all children, who are the joy of the Church and the hope of the world.
The Newborn Child who came to the world in Bethlehem is the same Jesus who walked the roads of Galilee and who gave His life for us on the Cross. He is the same Jesus who resurrected, and who, after ascending to Heaven, continues to guide the Church with the power of the Spirit. This is the great and beautiful truth of our Christian faith!
Dear children of the ACR. The Pope loves you all, he has faith in you, and entrusts you today with the task of being friends and witnesses for Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem to be among us. Would it not be beautiful to make Him better known among your friends, in your towns amd cities, in your parishes and in your families?
The Church needs you to be a friend to all the babies and children who live in Italy. Show the world that Jesus does not take away from your joy, but in fact, makes you more human, more true, more beautiful.