Pope Francis sent a message to the Leaders of Agesci, an association of Catholic guides and scouts, encouraging them to educate primarily with their lives, rather than words.
The Holy Father urged them to seek the “enthusiasm of their faith in Jesus, Master and Friend, to continue their human and spiritual journey within the Church with joy, bearing witness to the Gospel in society.”
He also hoped that the days of reflection, which ended on 25 August in Verona (Italy), would raise “awareness of the delicate nature of your educational commitment to children, adolescents and young people, who must be accompanied with wisdom and supported with affection.”
According to the Holy Father, this requires quality training for “those who are called to carry out this important mission: first of all, the willingness to listen and empathize with others, as an area in which evangelization germinates and bears fruit.”
In particular, Pope Francis continued, “it is about developing the ability to listen and the art of dialogue, which are naturally anchored in a life of prayer, where one enters into dialogue with the Lord, pausing in his presence to learn from him the art of self-sacrificing love, so that little by little one’s own existence becomes in tune with the heart of the Master.”
Later, he stressed that training is necessary to carry out the “missionary challenge”, just as Jesus did with the Apostles through the “formative interventions” that we read about in the Gospel.
In this sense, he highlighted the formative impact of the life and behaviour of the trainers, who “educate mainly with their lives, rather than with words.”
“The life of the formator, his constant human and spiritual growth as a disciple of Christ, sustained by the grace of God, is a fundamental factor that he has at his disposal to make his service to the younger generations effective. His very life bears witness to what his words and works seek to convey in dialogue and formative accompaniment,” he said.
The Holy Father referred to this association as an “important educational reality in the Church” and encouraged its members to make it “a gymnasium of Christian life, an opportunity for fraternal communion, a school of service to others, especially the most disadvantaged and needy.”
“Do not let yourselves be paralyzed by difficulties, but always set out on the path to seek the plan that God has for each one of us,” he concluded