The pope at the altar boys: "The path of holiness is not for the lazy"

"The way of holiness is not for the lazy" . Pope Francis pushed on 60 thousand altar boys, boys and girls aged 13 to 23 who came to Rome from Germany and 18 other countries for a pilgrimage of a week exhortation of the psalmist "Seek peace and pursue it". The concrete commitment to peace "is the proof that we are truly followers of Jesus," and the search for peace "begins with little things," he said at the time. an evening audience on St. Peter's Square, Jorge Mario Bergoglio. who then urged young people to engage with their neighbors – "and no matter if they are friends or strangers, compatriots or aliens" – warning that "we can not believe in God and think we are unique children! "

The altar boys began to sink at noon on St. Peter's Square guarded since the morning by a mbadive police device and overheated by the high temperatures of those days. Among the participants, some complaints about the lack of a capillary distribution of water bottles. Pope Bergoglio arrived in the square at around 6 pm, making a long bow in the white jeep, before going up to the cemetery of the Vatican Basilica to answer the questions of five young participants and then to preside over vespers. "I had the joy of seeing you around noon already, with this warmth" The Pope said that he went to lunch at the General Curia of the Jesuits for the feast of St. Ignatius from Loyola
: "But you are brave, congratulations!", Added Francesco who then answered the questions of five altar boys.

To translate the service of altar boys into charitable works in everyday life "it is necessary to make efforts," said the pope at the first public meeting after the summer holidays of July. "The path of holiness is not for the lazy: it takes effort, I see you are engaged in this journey" he continues. In love, Jesus showed us the works of mercy.I would like to ask you here if you know all the works of mercy: I am sure that your bishops have taught you them … But do you know them well? If you do not know them, how can you do them? They are a demanding way – said the Pope – but for everyone: there is no need to go to the College or take a diploma, we can all do works of mercy .It's enough that each of us starts to wonder: "What can I do today to answer to the needs of my neighbor? "And this neighbor: my brothers, my father, my mother, my grandparents, my friends, the poor, the sick, one by jo ur. And no matter if he is a friend or a stranger, a compatriot or a stranger: he is the next . Believe me, by doing this, you can become truly holy men and women who transform the world by living the love of Christ. It is true, it is not easy, it is difficult, but remember: the path of holiness is not for the lazy.

Peace, said Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is the "gift" of the Lord "who transforms us so that we, as members of his body, feel the same feelings of Jesus, we can think as he thinks, love as he loves, and at the end of Mbad we are sent with the word: "Go in peace", that is to say, bring peace with you to give to others: with your life, with your smile, with your charitable works The concrete commitment to peace proves that we are really disciples of Jesus and that the search for peace begins with small things. For example, at home, after a quarrel between brothers and sisters, I shut up, I offend, or I try to take a step towards the other? Can I make peace in small gestures?

Francis, in a subsequent response, invited the ministers to cultivate an "intertwining of action and contemplation" and to place themselves God "as such, without putting on makeup, without dressing, with merits and limitations". asking him how to better serve and serve him. "To testify of faith, he said to another young man:" there is no need for so many words, facts, proximity , service, silent gaze in front of the most holy Sacram and

] Nto. Young people – like everyone else – need friends who set a good example, who do without pretending without waiting for something in return. "For the German boy who asked him" why faith is so important to her ", the Pope answered first in German, " Sie haben verstanden " ("you understood", ed. ), then he explained: " Faith is essential, it makes me live.I would say that faith is like the air that we breathe We do not think of every breath when air is needed, but when it is missing or not clean, we realize how important it is so much! ", says the Pontiff, who adds:" We can not believe in God and think we are unique children! The only child who has God is Jesus, the only one because he is God, but among men there is not one child of God. "

In the end, Francis asked the boys if they felt "encouraged" by his questions, asking that the Serbian bishop Ladislav Nemet presiding over the Coetus Internationalis Ministrantium (Cim) translated into German adding with humor : "If that's the case, shout, otherwise, scream even louder," he says, raising a big fan of boys. "Today, in Europe, we live in peace almost everywhere, we accept it as a normal and almost obvious fact, "said Bishop Nemet, introducing the meeting. " How beautiful it would be for a peaceful life in all parts of the world. " world is just as natural: but unfortunately in many places it is only a desire ". Among the bishops present on the square Sa int-Peter, the German Stefan Oster of Pbadau, President of the German Episcopal Committee for Youth, and the Luxembourgish Jesuit Jean-Claude Hollerich President of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the Union European (Comece).

Twelfth Roman pilgrimage, periodically organized by the Coetus Internationalis Ministrantium (Cim) since the time of the Second Vatican Council
participate 50 thousand German boys and other ten thousand young people from 18 other countries: Antigua and Barbuda (Caribbean), Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, Croatia, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saint -Kitts and Nevis (Caribbean) Switzerland, Serbia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary and, for the first time, a Vietnamese group from the United States, including one of the girls who offered gifts to the Pope at the beginning of the 39; hearing.

At the final celebration of vespers, the Pope returned to quote St. Ignatius of Loyola explaining that "young soldier he thought of his own glory, at the right moment he was attracted by God's glory, and discovered that there is the center and the meaning of life. Let us be imitators of the saints do everything for the glory of God and for the salvation of the brothers, "said François, reiterating that holiness is not a way "for lazy young people." Before leaving to say goodbye, the Pope sent the altars "on mission": " Become a peace researcher, commit- you among the less fortunate, protest against injustice and discord, go announce peace "press the touch screen of a smartphone to send a message of peace through the l '39; application created specifically for pilgrimage.

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