Dear young people, the Church expects great things of you and your generosity. Don’t be afraid to aim high.

Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable objects, but often human beings themselves, who are discarded as 'unnecessary.' For example, it is frightful even to think there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day; children being used as soldiers, abused and killed in armed conflicts; and children being bought and sold in that terrible form of modern slavery which is human trafficking, which is a crime against humanity.

I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.

Who are we, as we stand before the child Jesus? Who are we, standing as we stand before today's children? Are we like Mary and Joseph, who welcomed Jesus and cared for him with the love of a father and a mother? Or are we like Herod, who wanted to eliminate him? Are we like the shepherds, who went in haste to kneel before him in worship and offer him their humble gifts? Or are we indifferent?

You cannot be in a position of power and destroy the life of another person.

Ours is not a joy born of having many possessions, but of having encountered a person: Jesus in our midst.

Christian witness is concrete: words without actions are empty.