Manila – Philippines (Monday, 01-19-2015, Gaudium Press) The Holy Father has listened to the testimony of two street children being sheltered by the Tulay ng Kabataan foundation (ANAK-Tnk). Fourteen-year-old Jun Chura and twelve-year-old Glyzelle Palomar had experienced the worst in the street of Manila.

Pope Francis, speaking in Spanish, invited the youth during the celebration of the Eucharist to learn how to cry.

According to the Pontiff: ” Why do children suffer so much? Why do children suffer? When the heart is able to ask itself and weep, then we can understand something. There is a worldly compassion which is useless. You expressed something like this. It’s a compassion that makes us put our hands in our pockets and give something to the poor. But if Christ had had that kind of compassion he would have greeted a couple of people, given them something, and walked on. But it was only when he was able to cry that he understood something of our lives. Dear young boys and girls, today’s world doesn’t know how to cry. The emarginated people, those left to one side, are crying. Those who are discarded are crying.

But we don’t understand much about these people in need. Certain realities of life we only see through eyes cleansed by our tears. I invite each one here to ask yourself: have I learned how to weep? Have I learned how to weep for the emarginated or for a street child who has a drug problem or for an abused child? Unfortunately there are those who cry because they want something else.”

“For this the Gospel offers us a serene way forward: using the three languages of the mind, heart and hands – and to use them in harmony. What you think, you must feel and put into effect. Your information comes down to your heart and you put it into practice. Harmoniously. What you think, you feel and you do. Feel what you think and feel what you do. Do what you think and what you feel. The three languages… Can you repeat this? To think. To feel. To do. And all in harmony…” he said.

Then the Pope commented on the testimony of a young student who, along with his friends, created a lighting system for the benefit of those affected by Hurricane Yolanda.

Touched with climate tragedy plaguing the country, the Pope stressed that we need to learn to love, because “it is more difficult to let love than love”, and therefore “it is so hard to get the perfect love of Jesus.” (LMI)