Congolese faithful hold their hands open-at the Popes invitation | Vatican Media
Pope Francis meets with young people and catechists from across the Democratic Republic of Congo, and urges them never to grow discouraged in their quest to resist corruption.
On the third day of his Apostolic Journey to the DRC, Pope Francis held a lively encounter with young people and the local Church’s catechists.
The meeting took place in the Martyr’s Stadium in Kinshasa on Thursday morning, and the Pope thanked the Congolese youth for their shows of affection and dancing.
In his address, the Holy Father invited the young people of the Democratic Republic of Congo to look at their hands and reflected on how each finger represents a different “ingredient for the future”.
First of all, he noted, no one’s hands are the same as anyone else’s, just as each person is a unique and unrepeatable treasure. At the same time, each of us have to choose whether to clench our hand into a fist or to open it in an offering to God and others.
Living prayer
Our thumb, said Pope Francis, is closest to our heart and therefore symbolizes prayer, which provides the driving force for our life.
Prayer, he added, is the basic ingredient for our future, and we need to listen to the word of God and cultivate a “living prayer” in order to grow inwardly.
“Jesus has triumphed over evil. He made of His cross the bridge to the resurrection. So, raise your hands to Him daily, praise Him and bless Him.”
We should speak to Jesus as our best friend, entrust our fears to Him, and tell Him the “deepest secrets of your life,” added the Pope.
“God loves this kind of living, concrete and heartfelt prayer,” he said. “It allows Him to intervene, to enter into your daily life in a special way, to come with his ‘power of peace’,” which is the Holy Spirit.
Source: Vatican News