the war has stolen the smile of Ukrainian children

At the general audience, Francis made a new appeal to pray for peace “on this feast of God who becomes a child.” In catechesis, the invitation to confront ourselves with the Word of God and the doctrine of the Church that “help us to read what moves in our hearts.”

Vatican City () – One of the crimes of war is taking away from children the ability to smile. Pope Francis said this today during his general audience on Wednesdays, renewing his invitation to live this Christmas with an eye fixed on the suffering of the Ukrainian people.

“On this feast of God who becomes a child,” he told the faithful present in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, “let us think of the children of the Ukraine who suffer so much from this war. When I meet them here, the majority cannot smile and when a child loses the ability to smile, it is serious. These children carry within them the tragedy of this inhumane, hard war. This Christmas, let us think of the Ukrainian people: without light, without heating, without what is necessary to survive We pray to the Lord to bring peace as soon as possible.”

Prior to this, the Pope continued with his catechism on discernment and stopped at some aids that can facilitate this exercise of spiritual life. And the first “indispensable” help is the confrontation with the Word of God and the doctrine of the Church. “They help us to read what moves in our hearts, learning to recognize the voice of God and to distinguish it from other voices, which seem to impose themselves, but which in the end leave us confused,” the Pontiff observed.

“For the believer, the Word of God is not simply a text to be read, it is a living presence, the work of the Holy Spirit that comforts, instructs, gives light, strength, encourages and makes you want to live. It is a true anticipation of paradise Francis added.

Approaching the Word of God helps us to live an affective relationship with the Lord Jesus. “Sometimes we tend to have a distorted idea of ​​God,” Francisco commented, “considering him as a harsh and severe judge, ready to catch us red-handed. Jesus, on the contrary, reveals to us a God full of compassion and tenderness, ready to sacrifice himself to meet us. Jesus on the cross does not scare anyone, he is the image of total helplessness and at the same time of the fullest love, capable of facing all trials for us.

“It is very beautiful to think of life with the Lord as a relationship of friendship that has the capacity to change hearts,” the Pope continued. “This happens thanks to the Holy Spirit” discernment in action, presence of God in us, who instructs us, makes alive the Word of God that we read, suggests new meanings, opens doors that seemed closed, points out paths of life where there seemed to be only darkness. and confusion.” “With these aids that the Lord gives us, we should not fear,” Francisco concluded.