Pope Francis’ advice to altar servers: Let Christ draw near to you

Noting that Jesus said that those who come to Him will never hunger, Francis said that Christ’s words on the Bread of Life refer especially to the Eucharist, “the greatest gift that satisfies the soul and the body”.

The pilgrimage was led by Bishop Ladislav Nemet of Zrenjanin, who is president of the global Union of Altar Servers.

“There are people who are afraid to go to confession, forgetting that they will not encounter a severe judge there, but the immensely merciful Father”, Pope Francis told thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square August. 2 for the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer. However, “Jesus reminds us that the real meaning of our earthly existence is the end – eternity – the encounter with him, who is gift and giver”. This year’s pilgrimage theme is “Here I am, send me”, spoken by Isaiah in response to God’s call.

This “bread of life” also brings with it a task, Francis said, “because we can in turn satisfy the spiritual and material hunger of our brothers and sisters, proclaiming the Gospel everywhere”.

Isaiah was surprised to discover that it was God who had made the first move toward him, and not the other way around, the Pope said, adding that “God is the one drawing close”.

“You are more fortunate today than the prophet Isaiah” because of the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, he said.

“Jesus invites us to be open to a perspective which is not only that of daily preoccupation and material requires: Jesus talks to us of a different kind of food, food that is not corruptible and that we must keep looking for and welcome into our lives”, he said, urging Catholics not to work for food that dies but ‘for the food that endures for eternal life which the son of man will give us.’. Rather, we are called to share the joy of knowing we are chosen and saved by God’s mercy, the joy of being witnesses to the fact that faith gives new direction to our steps, that it makes us free and strong so as to be ready and able for mission. Precisely because we are filled with the joy of being friends with Jesus Christ, faith draws us towards others, making us natural missionaries!

Reflecting on the day’s Gospel reading, St. John’s account of the multiplication of loaves and fish, Pope Francis said the story shows how the disciples tried to find a “market”-based solution by calculating how much money they would need to feed the large, hungry crowd that had gathered by the Sea of Galilee”.

Thank you for serving at the Lord’s altar and for making of this service a real school of learning the faith, and charity toward your neighbour. Thank you also for having begun to respond to the Lord, like the prophet Isaiah, ‘Here I am.