Children called to be hands of help and hearts of hope

Kottar Diocese’s pastoral letter urges families and parishes to form children in compassion, service and missionary spirit, highlighting their role as bearers of hope amid suffering worldwide.

KOTTAR, Tamil Nadu (Indian Catholic News) — Calling children to become “hands of help and hearts of hope,” a Kottar Diocese circular for Holy Childhood Day 2026 urges families and parishes to form young people in compassion, service and missionary spirit.

Addressed to clergy, religious, catechists, parents and children, the Jan. 27 circular opens with a greeting and announces the theme for the year: “Hands that help & hearts of hope.” It says the observance is meant to remind the faithful of “the beautiful missionary task that children must carry out, expressing love through helping hands and becoming a light to the world through hearts of hope.”

Quoting the Gospel, the document recalls: “Let the little children come to me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Mt 19:14), adding that these words “remind us again of the high place children have in the heart of the Church.”

It emphasises that children are not only the present but also “the hope and life of the Church of tomorrow.”

The circular situates the celebration within the global mission of the Church, noting that the Holy Childhood Association, founded in 1843, continues to invite children worldwide “to pray, to become aware of the needs and sufferings of other children, and to help them.”

The Holy Childhood movement, active in parishes across India, seeks to nurture missionary awareness among children from an early age. Kottar Diocese celebrates Holy Childhood Day on Feb. 1.

A call to respond to suffering

Reflecting on contemporary realities, the document points to the many hardships faced by children today, including illness, poverty and displacement. It states: “Children who struggle in hospitals, those who live in unsafe conditions on the streets, children longing for love in orphanages, and those affected by war, migration and family breakdown stand before our eyes and hearts.”

The circular stresses that helping children recognise these realities and develop a compassionate response must be central to formation. It calls this “an important training” that shapes their attitudes and actions.

Referring to a recent Church teaching, it highlights the call to love the poor, saying it “invites us to see suffering children and all the poor as personally loved by God,” and challenges the faithful to make “their pain our pain and their tears our responsibility.”

In practical terms, the circular urges parishes and families to encourage children to engage in acts of charity. These include visiting the sick, caring for the elderly, spending time with orphans and refugees, and assisting poor families. Such actions, it says, will help children become “living witnesses who transform hope into action.”

Parents, teachers and pastoral workers are also called to lead by example, guiding children “on the right path” through their own lives and commitment.

The document further appeals to the faithful to contribute offerings collected during the Feb. 8 celebration to support children in need worldwide through the Church’s missionary initiatives. It notes: “Even your small sacrifices can become a light of hope in the lives of many children.”

Concluding, the circular reiterates the theme, saying it “calls both children and adults to transformation at the same time.” It expresses the hope that “help may grow in the hands of children” and “hope may take root in their hearts,” so that “through that hope, our Church and society may be renewed.”