More than 70,000 altar servers attend audience with Pope Francis

Source: Vatican Media/Facebook

More than 70,000 altar servers between the ages of 13 and 23, from 19 different countries, arrived in Rome on Monday for the start of the 12th International Pilgrimage for Altar Boys and Girls with the motto, "Seek Peace and Pursue it!" (Psalm 34:15).

The highlight of the pilgrimage took place on Tuesday evening when pilgrims took part in an Extraordinary Audience with Pope Francis in St Peter's Square.

During a short Q&A session with the altar servers, one asked a question about the sign of peace during Mass. "Peace and Holy Mass go together", Pope Francis said. We pray asking Jesus to give us His peace, and we are sent forth in peace at the end of Mass." Then Pope Francis proposed that the young people ask themselves in every situation: "What would Jesus do in my place?" By doing that "we will bring Christ's peace to our everyday lives," he said.

Another server asked the Pope to explain how they can live contemplatively while serving. Pope Francis suggested that "It would be wonderful if, alongside your service to the liturgy, you could become more involved in the life of your parish and also spend some time in silence in the Lord's presence." This practice, he said, would allow them to discover their own talents, understand how to develop them and what God's plan for them is. "Remember," he told them, "the more you give yourself to others, the more you will get back in personal fulfilment and true happiness!"

"You can be apostles, capable of drawing others to Jesus," Pope Francis said in response to a question regarding the pilgrims' peers who do not go to church. "This will happen if you are full of enthusiasm for Him", he explained.

The Pope then encouraged the servers to spend time knowing and loving Jesus through prayer, Mass, Gospel reading, and through the poor. "Try also to be friends, with no strings attached, to all those around you, so that a ray of Jesus' light can shine on them through your own heart in love with him", the Pope said.

To a question on the need for faith, Pope Francis said that "faith is like the air we breathe".. "it helps us to grasp the meaning of life". This faith leads us to the conviction that we are God's children, and belong to his family, the Church. There "the Lord nourishes his sons and daughters with his word and with his sacraments", Pope Francis told them.

The last question came from a server who wanted to know how to translate service into works of charity in order to become holy. Pope Francis responded saying that Jesus' "simple plan for advancing in the way of holiness" is the commandment to love God and our neighbour. This commandment becomes even more concrete in the works of mercy, he said. The question to ask is "What can I do today to meet the needs of my neighbour?" who may be a friend or a stranger, he said. "Believe me, by doing this, you can become real saints, men and woman who transform the world by living the love of Christ", the Pope concluded.

In his address during the audience, Pope Francis reflected on the reading from 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1.

"Giving God glory in everything sums up what it means to be a friend of Jesus," Pope Francis began. When we are unsure, that can be our guide. "God's glory is the needle of our moral compass," he said. By it we recognise God's voice and can know his will."

Pope Francis' then encouraged his listeners to practice St Paul's exhortation to be pleasing to others so they may be saved. He suggested that we can brighten others up when they are down. This demonstrates both "love of God and the joy of faith" in addition to helping us remain friends with them. "If we keep doing this," Pope Francis said, "it will help our brothers and sisters to come to know Jesus, our one Saviour."

"Maybe you are wondering: 'Can I do this? Isn't it too much for me?' … The mission is certainly a great one… but it is not impossible." St Paul provides the key when he says to imitate him as he imitates Christ (see 1 Cor 11:1). Imitating Christ and the saints makes it possible for us to carry out the mission. "They are the living Gospel, because they translated the message of Christ in their own lives", the Pope said.

Pope Francis concluded using the saint of the day - St Ignatius of Loyola - as an example: "As a young soldier, he was concerned with his own glory yet, in good time, he was attracted by the glory of God. There he discovered the heart and meaning of life itself. So let us imitate the saints. Let everything we do be for God's glory and the salvation of our brothers and sisters."

The annual pilgrimage is organised by Coetus Internationalis Ministrantium (CIM) For more information see: www.minis-cim.net/en/