Aboard the papal plane, 02 March, 2024 / 6:16 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis has issued a message to the world’s children in anticipation of the Church’s first-ever World Children’s Day, which will take place in Rome from May 25–26, reminding them that the key to happiness lies in cultivating a prayer life and personal relationship with Christ, which in turn forms the basis of broader social action.
“If we really want to be happy, we need to pray, to pray a lot, to pray every day, because prayer connects us directly to God. Prayer fills our hearts with light and warmth; it helps us to do everything with confidence and peace of mind,” the pope wrote in his March 2 letter addressed to the world’s children.
The pope followed up this reflection by asking children to pray the Lord’s Prayer “every morning and every evening, in your families too, together with your parents, brothers, sisters, and grandparents.” But the pope urged children to not merely recite the words but to reflect on their meaning and on Jesus’ ministry.
“He is calling us and he wants us to join actively with him, on this World Children’s Day, to become builders of a new, more humane, just, and peaceful world. Jesus, who offered himself on the cross to gather all of us together in love, who conquered death and reconciled us with the Father, wants to continue his work in the Church through us,” the pope continued
Pope Francis announced the creation of World Children’s Day last December, saying that it will be an event to bring children from all around the world together to reflect on the question of “What kind of world do we wish to pass on to the children who are growing up?” The Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education is sponsoring the initiative.
