With your friend Jesus, go against the tide!

With the joy of Jesus’ love and faith, you can be peacemakers and overcome all difficulties. This was the comforting reminder Pope Francis offered children and young people in Verona on Saturday morning, 18 May, during his one-day pastoral visit to the northern Italian city.

As he left the Basilica of Saint Zeno following his encounter with priests and consecrated men and women, the Pope was greeted by some 6,000 children. He stopped to respond to three of their questions.

Asked how to discern Jesus’ voice, the Holy Father invited the children to recall how great they feel when they do something good, and how bad they feel when they do something wrong. As the children enthusiastically responded to the Pope’s prompts, he explained that the good feeling they experience after doing a good gesture is how they feel as the Lord speaks to them.

The next question dealt with how to be peacemakers. In this context, the Pope encouraged them to, together, “be a sign of peace”, in which they listen to, share, and play with one another, without fighting. “There are many wars”, he noted, listing those in Ukraine, the Holy Land, Africa and Myanmar, but Jesus, he explained, calls for peace, not war.

Lastly, asked how faith can be preserved in challenging times, the Holy Father acknowledged that life presents many difficulties, including the loss of loved ones, especially relatives, but he went on to express his belief that the joy that the Lord gives us consoles us and enables us to push through whatever comes our way.

With Jesus at their side, the Pope told the children, they truly can become peacemakers. He encouraged them to go against the tide courageously and with faith, and to use their gifts to help others.

“Don’t be afraid to go against the tide if you want to do a good thing, do you understand?”, he insisted.

At the end of their conversation, the Holy Father invited the children to pray an “Our Father” all together, and then imparted his Apostolic Blessing upon them.