POPE: 'LEARN TO LISTEN TO GOD'

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 21, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI received a group from the youth section of the Italian group Catholic Action at the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace. During the audience, which has become a yearly tradition, the Holy Father invited the youth to welcome "the creator of your joy" in the coming Christmas season.
"There are many people who bring you happiness, but there is also a great friend who is the creator of the joy of all, and with Whom our hearts are filled with a joy that surpasses all other, and which lasts throughout our lives: this friend is Jesus," the Holy Father said.
"The more you get to know Him and to enter into dialogue with Him, the greater the happiness you will feel in your hearts, and the more able you will be to overcome the minor disappointments you sometimes feel within."
Pope Benedict, calling to mind the youth's search for a guide in love, reminded them that being able to love is just as important as feeling loved. "Jesus showed us through the example of His life that God loves all without discrimination, and wants all of us to live in happiness," the Pope said.
Concluding his address, the Holy Father said that in their search for a bringer of peace, the youth should look only to God as the one who can bring "true and durable peace.
Pope Benedict invited the young boys and girls of Catholic Action to learn to listen to God and make space in their lives for Him. In doing so, He may clear away "the selfishness that often pollutes the relationships between people and nations, and gives rise to the desire for reconciliation, forgiveness and peace, even in those with the most hardened of hearts."
"If you wish to help each other to find the great Creator of life, joy, love and peace, you will discover that He is never far from you, but rather, is very close to us: He is the God who came to us as the child Jesus Christ!" concluded the Holy Father.