On Saturday, Pope Francis met with 200 children who were the participants in the annual ‘Children’s Train,’ sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture in association with the Italian national railway. The train passengers this year were sons and daughters of prisoners from Rome, Civitavecchia, Latina, Bari and Trani.
During the enthusiastic encounter, full of song and dialogue, the Pope stressed God is love.
The 78-year-old Pontiff reflected on the gift of a plant the children brought him, to speak about how inside the earth there is darkness and what they are to learn from this. Whenever there’s darkness, one is to go toward the light, he stressed. «The light. It is inside of us, always. Because the light gives us joy, it gives us hope.»
The Holy Father encouraged them to see that everyone can find the light.
He also asked them how to make a better world, to which they responded: «With love!»
«Who is God?» Francis said. He affirmed the children’s response that «God is love.»
«God is love… And we go towards the light to find the love of God. But is the love of God inside of us, even in the dark times? Is the love of God there, hidden? Yes, always! The love of God never leaves us. It is always with us,» he said.
«When the love of God is ahead, everything goes well,» he said.
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On ZENIT’s Web Page
Full Translation: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-meeting-with-participants-of-the-children-s-train–2
More about ‘Children’s Train’: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/children-of-italian-prisoners-to-ride-children-s-train-meet-with-pope
