Pope: better a society with the "trouble" of children than "sad and gray" without children
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Children "are in themselves a treasure for humanity and for the Church", they understand God and "God has no difficulty in making Himself understood", they remind us that "we did make our own life, but we received it", so we are not the masters and, although sometimes they can bring" troubles"," better a society with these problems and worries than a society that is sad and gray, because it is without children , and when we see that birth rates have dropped to one per cent, we can say that it is sad and gray, because it is without children
"Having reflected on the diverse figures of family life, mother, father, siblings, grandparents," Pope Francis announced that the catechesis for today's general audience would be dedicated to children. This week the Pope spoke of how children are a "great gift for humanity", while next week he will discuss "some wounds that unfortunately hurt childhood".
Speaking to 25 thousand people in St. Peter's Square, among whom he toured at length in his white jeep, the Pope first of all evoked "the many children I have met during my recent trip to Asia: full of life, enthusiasm, and, on the other hand, I see that in the world today many of them live in undignified conditions... In fact, one can judge a society by the way it treats its children, not only morally, but also if it is a free society or a slave to international interests. "
"First of all - he continued - children remind us all that, in the first years of life, we were totally dependent on the care and kindness of others. Not even the Son of God was spared this step. This is the mystery contemplate every year at Christmas. The Nativity is the icon that recounts this reality in the most simple and direct way. But it is curious: God has no difficulty in being understood by children, and children have no trouble understanding God. It is not by chance that in the Gospel Jesus has some very beautiful and strong words regarding the 'little ones'. This term 'little one' means all the people who depend on the help of others, and especially children. For example, Jesus says: "I give praise Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little ones. "And again:"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. " Therefore, children are in themselves a treasure for humanity and for the Church, because they constantly remind us of the necessary condition for entering the kingdom of God: not to consider ourselves self-sufficient, but in need of help, love, forgiveness . And all of us, we are in need of help, love and forgiveness ... all of us! ".
"Children - he continued - remind us of another thing; they remind us that we are always children: even if one becomes an adult, or elderly, even if one becomes a parent, or occupies a position of responsibility, under all of this the identity of the child remains. We are all children. And this brings us back always to the fact that we did not give life to ourselves, we received it. The great gift of life is the first gift we have received, life. We sometimes risk forgetting about this, living as if we were the masters of our existence, and instead we are radically dependent. In fact, it is a great joy to hear that in every age, in every situation, in every walk of life, we are and we remain children. This is the main message that children give us, with their very presence. With their presence alone, they remind us that all of us and each of us are children. "
"But there are so many gifts, so many riches that children bring to humanity. I will mention just a few. They bring their way of seeing reality, with a confident and pure gaze. Children have a spontaneous confidence in their mother and father; they have a spontaneous trust in God, in Jesus, the Virgin Mary. At the same time, their inner eye is pure, not yet tainted by malice, duplicity, the corrosion of life that hardens hearts. We know that even children have original sin, they have their egos, but they retain a purity and simplicity within. Children are not diplomats: they say what they feel, they say what they see, directly. And so often they challenge their parents: 'I don't like this because it's bad '... in front of other people. But children say what they see, they are not two faced. They have not yet learned the science of duplicity which we adults have learned. "
"Children also in their inner simplicity bring with them the ability to receive and give tenderness. Tenderness is having a heart of 'flesh' and not 'stone', as the Bible says. Tenderness is also poetry: it is 'feeling' things and events, not treating them as mere objects, only to use them, because they can be useful... Children have the ability to smile and cry: two things that we adults often 'block', we are no longer capable .. . It always depends on the heart that hardens ... And then children can teach us to smile and cry again. For all these reasons, Jesus invites his disciples to 'become like children', because 'for to such belongs the Kingdom of God'".
"Children - he concluded - bring life, joy, hope, even trouble. But, life is like that. Of course they also bring concerns and sometimes many problems, but a society with these concerns and these problems is far better than a society that is sad and gray because it has no children! And when we see that the birth rate of a society is down to one percent, we can say that this society is sad, is gray because it has no children".
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