"Children help children", this has been and is the alma mater of the Pontifical Work of Missionary Childhood (formerly known as Holy Childhood). Sometimes the verb was changed to "children evangelize children".
This year, the Day of this Pontifical Work, which will take place on January 16, has chosen the theme, "With Jesus to Jerusalem: Light for the world!"
We will recall the last known detail of the Lord's infancy: when Jesus as a child stays in Jerusalem, answering and enlightening the doctors and teachers of the law. He is the true Light of the world who enlightens those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Today there are many children in the world who live in darkness, who do not have the faith, the hope, the love that comes from knowing God. They too must have the joy of knowing that they are loved by a God who is Father. They are many, they are the majority, they are too many. And we can help them, and so we must teach them to our children. Do you remember Teresita? Yes, the little missionary girl! She wanted to be a missionary: "I want to bring Jesus to the children who do not know him, so that they may go to heaven happily ever after, always." Children can be missionaries, be light to bring Jesus to those who do not know him. And they do it by praying for the children who do not know God; and they do it by offering small or big sacrifices for the missionaries, as Therese did; and they do it when they give a small alms to help the missions....
Children are missionaries when they speak with simplicity and with a smile about God and about what they ask of him or what they thank him for in their prayers; sometimes they are the ones who best give a great testimony of faith and trust in God, and sometimes they are the ones who best understand that we must be concerned about others, that we must widen our hearts to be attentive to the needs of other children, even if they are far away.
