LETTER OF THE POPE JOHN
PAUL II
TO CHILDREN
IN THE YEAR OF THE FAMILY
December 13, 1994
Dear children,
Jesus is born
In a few days we shall celebrate Christmas, the holy day which is so
full of meaning for all children in every family. This year it will
be even more so, because this is the Year of the Family. Before the
Year of the Family ends, I want to write to you, the children of the
whole world, and to share with you in the joy of this happy time of
year.
Christmas is the feast day of a Child, of a Newborn Baby. So it is
your feast day too! You wait impatiently for it and get ready for it
with joy, counting the days and even the hours to the Holy Night of
Bethlehem.
I can almost see you: you are setting up the Crib at home, in the
parish, in every corner of the world, recreating the surroundings
and the atmosphere in which the Saviour was born. Yes, it is true!
At Christmastime, the stable and the manger take centre place in the
Church. And everyone hurries to go there, to make a spiritual
pilgrimage, like the shepherds on the night of Jesus' birth. Later,
it will be the Magi arriving from the distant East, following the
star, to the place where the Redeemer of the universe lay.
You too, during the days of Christmas, visit the Cribs, stopping to
look at the Child lying in the hay. You look at his Mother and you
look at Saint Joseph, the Redeemer's guardian. As you look at the
Holy Family, you think of your own family, the family in which you
came into the world. You think of your mother, who gave you birth,
and of your father. Both of them provide for the family and for your
upbringing. For it is the parents' duty not only to have children
but to bring them up from the moment of their birth.
Dear children, as I write to you I am thinking of when many years
ago I was a child like you. I too used to experience the peaceful
feelings of Christmas, and when the star of Bethlehem shone, I would
hurry to the Crib together with the other boys and girls to relive
what happened 2000 years ago in Palestine. We children expressed our
joy mostly in song. How beautiful and moving are the Christmas
carols which in the tradition of every people are sung around the
Crib! What deep thoughts they contain, and above all what joy and
tenderness they express about the Divine Child who came into the
world that Holy Night!
The days which follow the birth of Jesus are also feast days: so
eight days afterwards, according to the Old Testament tradition, the
Child was given a name: he was called Jesus. After forty days, we
commemorate his presentation in the Temple, like every other
first-born son of Israel. On that occasion, an extraordinary meeting
took place: Mary, when she arrived in the Temple with the Child, was
met by the old man Simeon, who took the Baby Jesus in his arms and
spoke these prophetic words: "Lord, now let your servant depart in
peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for
revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel" (Lk
2:29-32). Then, speaking to his Mother Mary, he added: "Behold, this
child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a
sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your
own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed" (Lk
2:34-35). So already in the very first days of Jesus' life we heard
the foretelling of the Passion, which will one day include his
Mother Mary too: on Good Friday she will stand silently by the Cross
of her Son. Also, not much time will pass after his birth before the
Baby Jesus finds himself facing a grave danger: the cruel king Herod
will order all the children under the age of two years to be killed,
and for this reason Jesus will be forced to flee with his parents
into Egypt.
You certainly know all about these events connected with the birth
of Jesus. They are told to you by your parents, and by priests,
teachers and catechists, and each year you relive them spiritually
at Christmastime together with the whole Church. So you know about
these dramatic aspects of Jesus' infancy.
Dear friends! In what happened to the Child of Bethlehem you can
recognize what happens to children throughout the world. It is true
that a child represents the joy not only of its parents but also the
joy of the Church and the whole of society. But it is also true that
in our days, unfortunately, many children in different parts of the
world are suffering and being threatened: they are hungry and poor,
they are dying from diseases and malnutrition, they are the victims
of war, they are abandoned by their parents and condemned to remain
without a home, without the warmth of a family of their own, they
suffer many forms of violence and arrogance from grown-ups. How can
we not care, when we see the suffering of so many children,
especially when this suffering is in some way caused by grown-ups?
Jesus brings the Truth
The Child whom we see in the manger at Christmas grew up as the
years passed. When he was twelve years old, as you know, he went for
the first time with Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Jerusalem for
the Feast of the Passover. There, in the crowds of pilgrims, he was
separated from his parents and, with other boys and girls of his own
age, he stopped to listen to the teachers in the Temple, for a sort
of "catechism lesson". The holidays were good opportunities for
handing on the faith to children who were about the same age as
Jesus. But on this occasion it happened that this extraordinary boy
who had come from Nazareth not only asked very intelligent questions
but also started to give profound answers to those who were teaching
him. The questions and even more the answers astonished the Temple
teachers. It was the same amazement which later on would mark Jesus'
public preaching. The episode in the Temple of Jerusalem was simply
the beginning and a kind of foreshadowing of what would happen some
years later.
Dear boys and girls who are the same age as the twelve-year-old
Jesus, are you not reminded now of the religion lessons in the
parish and at school, lessons which you are invited to take part in?
So I would like to ask you some questions: What do you think of your
religion lessons? Do you become involved like the twelve-year-old
Jesus in the Temple? Do you regularly go to these lessons at school
and in the parish? Do your parents help you to do so?
The twelve-year-old Jesus became so interested in the religion
lesson in the Temple of Jerusalem that, in a sense, he even forgot
about his own parents. Mary and Joseph, having started off on the
journey back to Nazareth with other pilgrims, soon realized that
Jesus was not with them. They searched hard for him. They went back
and only on the third day did they find him in Jerusalem, in the
Temple. "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I
have been looking for you anxiously" (Lk 2:48). How strange is
Jesus' answer and how it makes us stop and think! "How is it that
you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's
house?" (Lk 2:49). It was an answer difficult to accept. The
evangelist Luke simply adds that Mary "kept all these things in her
heart" (2:51). In fact, it was an answer which would be understood
only later, when Jesus, as a grown-up, began to preach and say that
for his Heavenly Father he was ready to face any sufferings and even
death on the cross.
From Jerusalem Jesus went back with Mary and Joseph to Nazareth
where he was obedient to them (Lk 2:51). Regarding this period,
before his public preaching began, the Gospel notes only that he
"increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man"
(Lk 2:52).
Dear children, in the Child whom you look at in the Crib you must
try to see also the twelve-year-old boy in the Temple in Jerusalem,
talking with the teachers. He is the same grown man who later, at
thirty years old, will begin to preach the word of God, will choose
the Twelve Apostles, will be followed by crowds thirsting for the
truth. At every step he will confirm his extraordinary teaching with
signs of divine power: he will give sight to the blind, heal the
sick, even raise the dead. And among the dead whom he will bring
back to life there will be the twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus,
and the son of the widow of Naim, given back alive to his weeping
mother.
It is really true: this Child, now just born, once he is grown up,
as Teacher of divine Truth, will show an extraordinary love for
children. He will say to the Apostles: "Let the children come to me,
do not hinder them", and he will add: "for to such belongs the
kingdom of God" (Mk 10:14). Another time, as the Apostles are
arguing about who is the greatest, he will put a child in front of
them and say: "Unless you turn and become like children, you will
never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 18:3). On that occasion, he
also spoke harsh words of warning: "Whoever causes one of these
little ones who believes in me to sin, it would be better for him to
have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in
the depth of the sea" (Mt 18:6).
How important children are in the eyes of Jesus! We could even say
that the Gospel is full of the truth about children. The whole of
the Gospel could actually be read as the "Gospel of children".
What does it mean that "unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven"? Is not Jesus pointing to
children as models even for grown-ups? In children there is
something that must never be missing in people who want to enter the
kingdom of heaven. People who are destined to go to heaven are
simple like children, and like children are full of trust, rich in
goodness and pure. Only people of this sort can find in God a Father
and, thanks to Jesus, can become in their own turn children of God.
Is not this the main message of Christmas? We read in Saint John:
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn 1:14); and again:
"To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to
become children of God" (Jn 1:12). Children of God! You, dear
children, are sons and daughters of your parents. God wants us all
to become his adopted children by grace. Here we have the real
reason for Christmas joy, the joy I am writing to you about at the
end of this Year of the Family. Be happy in this "Gospel of divine
sonship". In this joy I hope that the coming Christmas holidays will
bear abundant fruit in this Year of the Family.
Jesus gives himself
Dear friends, there is no doubt that an unforgettable meeting with
Jesus is First Holy Communion, a day to be remembered as one of
life's most beautiful. The Eucharist, instituted by Christ at the
Last Supper, on the night before his Passion, is a Sacrament of the
New Covenant, rather, the greatest of the Sacraments. In this
Sacrament, the Lord becomes food for the soul under the appearances
of bread and wine. Children receive this Sacrament solemnly a first
time-in First Holy Communion-and are encouraged to receive it
afterwards as often as possible in order to remain in close
friendship with Jesus.
To be able to receive Holy Communion, as you know, it is necessary
to have received Baptism: this is the first of the Sacraments and
the one most necessary for salvation. Baptism is a great event! In
the Church's first centuries, when Baptism was received mostly by
grown-ups, the ceremony ended with receiving the Eucharist, and was
as solemn as First Holy Communion is today. Later on, when Baptism
began to be given mainly to newborn babies-and this is the case of
many of you, dear children, so that in fact you do not remember the
day of your Baptism-the more solemn celebration was transferred to
the moment of First Holy Communion. Every boy and every girl
belonging to a Catholic family knows all about this custom: First
Holy Communion is a great family celebration. On that day, together
with the one who is making his or her First Holy Communion, the
parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, godparents, and sometimes
also the instructors and teachers, generally receive the Eucharist.
The day of First Holy Communion is also a great day of celebration
in the parish. I remember as though it were yesterday when, together
with the other boys and girls of my own age, I received the
Eucharist for the first time in the parish church of my town. This
event is usually commemorated in a family photo, so that it will not
be forgotten. Photos like these generally remain with a person all
through his or her life. As time goes by, people take out these
pictures and experience once more the emotions of those moments;
they return to the purity and joy experienced in that meeting with
Jesus, the One who out of love became the Redeemer of man.
For how many children in the history of the Church has the Eucharist
been a source of spiritual strength, sometimes even heroic strength!
How can we fail to be reminded, for example, of holy boys and girls
who lived in the first centuries and are still known and venerated
throughout the Church? Saint Agnes, who lived in Rome; Saint Agatha,
who was martyred in Sicily; Saint Tarcisius, a boy who is rightly
called the "martyr of the Eucharist" because he preferred to die
rather than give up Jesus, whom he was carrying under the appearance
of bread.
And so down the centuries, up to our own times, there are many boys
and girls among those declared by the Church to be saints or
blessed. Just as Jesus in the Gospel shows special trust in
children, so his Mother Mary, in the course of history, has not
failed to show her motherly care for the little ones. Think of Saint
Bernadette of Lourdes, the children of La Salette and, in our own
century Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta of Fatima.
Earlier I was speaking to you about the "Gospel of children": has
this not found in our own time a particular expression in the
spirituality of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus? It is absolutely
true: Jesus and his Mother often choose children and give them
important tasks for the life of the Church and of humanity. I have
named only a few who are known everywhere, but how many others there
are who are less widely known! The Redeemer of humanity seems to
share with them his concern for others: for parents, for other boys
and girls. He eagerly awaits their prayers. What enormous power the
prayer of children has! This becomes a model for grown-ups
themselves: praying with simple and complete trust means praying as
children pray.
And here I come to an important point in this Letter: at the end of
this Year of the Family, dear young friends, it is to your prayers
that I want to entrust the problems of your own families and of all
the families in the world. And not only this: I also have other
intentions to ask you to pray for. The Pope counts very much on your
prayers. We must pray together and pray hard, that humanity, made up
of billions of human beings, may become more and more the family of
God and able to live in peace. At the beginning of this Letter I
mentioned the unspeakable suffering which many children have
experienced in this century, and which many of them are continuing
to endure at this very moment. How many of them, even in these days,
are becoming victims of the hatred which is raging in different
parts of the world: in the Balkans, for example, and in some African
countries. It was while I was thinking about these facts, which fill
our hearts with pain, that I decided to ask you, dear boys and
girls, to take upon yourselves the duty of praying for peace. You
know this well: love and harmony build peace, hatred and violence
destroy it. You instinctively turn away from hatred and are
attracted by love: for this reason the Pope is certain that you will
not refuse his request, but that you will join in his prayer for
peace in the world with the same enthusiasm with which you pray for
peace and harmony in your own families.
Praise the name of the Lord!
At the end of this Letter, dear boys and girls, let me recall the
words of a Psalm which have always moved me: Laudate pueri Dominum!
Praise, O children of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! Blessed
be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore! From
the rising of the sun to its setting may the name of the Lord be
praised! (Ps 112/113:1-3). As I meditate on the words of this Psalm,
the faces of all the world's children pass before my eyes: from the
East to the West, from the North to the South. It is to you, young
friends, without distinction of language, race or nationality, that
I say: Praise the name of the Lord!
And since people must praise God first of all with their own lives,
do not forget what the twelve-year-old Jesus said to his Mother and
to Joseph in the Temple in Jerusalem: "Did you not know that I must
be in my Father's house?" (Lk 2:49). People praise God by following
the voice of their own calling. God calls every person, and his
voice makes itself heard even in the hearts of children: he calls
people to live in marriage or to be priests; he calls them to the
consecrated life or perhaps to work on the missions... Who can say?
Pray, dear boys and girls, that you will find out what your calling
is, and that you will then follow it generously.
Praise the name of the Lord! The children of every continent, on the
night of Bethlehem, look with faith upon the newborn Child and
experience the great joy of Christmas. They sing in their own
languages, praising the name of the Lord. The touching melodies of
Christmas spread throughout the earth. They are tender and moving
words which are heard in every human language; it is like a festive
song rising from all the earth, which blends with the song of the
Angels, the messengers of the glory of God, above the stable in
Bethlehem: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among
men with whom he is pleased!" (Lk 2:14). The highly favoured Son of
God becomes present among us as a newborn baby; gathered around him,
the children of every nation on earth feel his eyes upon them, eyes
full of the Heavenly Father's love, and they rejoice because God
loves them. People cannot live without love. They are called to love
God and their neighbour, but in order to love properly they must be
certain that God loves them.
God loves you, dear children! This is what I want to tell you at the
end of the Year of the Family and on the occasion of these Christmas
feast days, which in a special way are your feast days.
I hope that they will be joyful and peaceful for you; I hope that
during them you will have a more intense experience of the love of
your parents, of your brothers and sisters, and of the other members
of your family. This love must then spread to your whole community,
even to the whole world, precisely through you, dear children. Love
will then be able to reach those who are most in need of it,
especially the suffering and the abandoned. What joy is greater than
the joy brought by love? What joy is greater than the joy which you,
O Jesus, bring at Christmas to people's hearts, and especially to
the hearts of children?
Raise your tiny hand, Divine Child,
and bless these young friends of yours,
bless the children of all the earth.
From the Vatican, 13 December 1994.
JOHN PAUL II
Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
