ANGELUS POPE FRANCIS
Saint
Peter's Square
Sunday, 11 December 2016
Sunday, 11 December 2016
 |
| PHOTO: L'OSSERVATORE ROMANO |
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good
morning!
Today we celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent,
which is characterized by Saint Paul’s invitation: “Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, Rejoice.... The Lord is at hand” (Phil 4:4-5). It is not a
superficial or purely emotional cheerfulness that the Apostle exhorts, nor is
it the cheerfulness of worldliness or of consumerism. No, it is not that, but
rather, it entails a more authentic joy, the taste of which we are called to
rediscover. The taste of true joy. It is a joy that touches our innermost
being, as we await Jesus, who has already come to bring salvation to the world,
the promised Messiah, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. The liturgy of the
Word offers us the appropriate context for understanding and living out this
joy. Isaiah speaks of wilderness, of dry land, of plains (cf. 35:1); the
Prophet has before him weak hands, feeble knees, fearful hearts, people who are
blind, deaf and dumb (cf. vv. 3-6). The context of this situation is
desolation, an inexorable fate without God.
But finally salvation is proclaimed: “Be strong,
fear not!” — the Prophet says — “Behold, your God.... He will come and save
you” (cf. Is 35:4). And straight away everything is transformed: the desert
blooms, comfort and joy permeate hearts (cf. vv. 5-6). These signs proclaimed
by Isaiah as signs of salvation which is already present; they are fulfilled in
Jesus. He himself affirms it by responding to the messengers sent by John the
Baptist — what does Jesus say to these messengers? “The blind receive their
sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead
are raised up” (Mt 11:5). They are not words, but are facts which demonstrate
how salvation, brought by Jesus, seizes the human being and regenerates him.
God has entered history in order to free us from the slavery of sin; he set his
tent in our midst in order to share our existence, to heal our lesions, to bind
our wounds and to give us new life. Joy is the fruit of this intervention of
God’s salvation and love.
We are called to let ourselves be drawn in by the
feeling of exultation. This exultation, this joy.... But a Christian who isn’t
joyful is a Christian who is lacking something, or else is not a Christian! It
is heartfelt joy, the joy within which leads us forth and gives us courage. The
Lord comes, he comes into our life as a liberator; he comes to free us from all
forms of interior and exterior slavery. It is he who shows us the path of
faithfulness, of patience and of perseverance because, upon his return, our joy
will be overflowing. Christmas is near, the signs of his approach are evident
along our streets and in our houses; here too, in Saint Peter’s Square, the
Nativity scene has been placed with the tree beside it. These outward signs invite
us to welcome the Lord who always comes and knocks at our door, knocks at our
heart, in order to draw near to us; he invites us to recognize his footsteps
among the brothers and sisters who pass beside us, especially the weakest and
most needy.
Today we are called to rejoice for the imminent
coming of our Redeemer; and we are called to share this joy with others, giving
comfort and hope to the poor, the sick, and to people who are lonely and
unhappy. May the Virgin Mary, the “handmaid of the Lord”, help us to hear God’s
voice in prayer and to serve him with compassion in our brothers, so as to be
prepared for the Christmas appointment, preparing our hearts to welcome Jesus.
After the
Angelus:
Dear
brothers and sisters, every day I am close to the people of Aleppo, above all
in prayer. We must not forget that Aleppo is a city, that there are people
there: families, children, elderly, sick people.... Sadly we have now become
accustomed to war, to the destruction, but we must not forget that Syria is a
country full of history, culture and faith. We cannot
accept that this is denied by war, which is an aggregation of oppression and
untruth. I appeal to everyone for the commitment to make a civilized choice:
say ‘no’ to destruction, ‘yes’ to peace, ‘yes’ to the people of Aleppo and of
Syria.
Let us also pray for the victims of several brutal
terrorist attacks which have struck various countries in recent hours. The
places are different, but sadly the violence which sows death and destruction
is unique. Unique too, is the response: faith in God and unity in human and
civil values. I would like to express particular closeness to my dear brother Pope
Tawadros II [Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church] and to his community, in
praying for the dead and the wounded.
Today in Vientiane, Laos, Mario Borzaga, a priest
of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Paolo Thoj Xyooj, a faithful lay
catechist, and 14 companions killed in hatred of the faith shall be declared
Blessed. May their heroic faithfulness to Christ be an encouragement and an
example to missionaries and especially to catechists, who in mission lands
carry out a valuable and irreplaceable apostolic work, for which the Church is
grateful to them. Let us also think of our catechists: they do so much work,
such beautiful work! Being a catechist is a beautiful thing: it is bringing the
Lord’s message so that it may grow in us. A round of applause for catechists,
everyone!
I warmly greet all of you, dear pilgrims from
various countries. Today the first greeting is reserved for the children and
youth from Rome, who have come for the traditional blessing of the “Baby Jesus”
[statuettes], organized by the parish oratories and by the Catholic schools of
Rome. Dear boys and girls, when you pray before your Nativity scene with your
parents, ask Baby Jesus to help us all to remember to love God and neighbour.
Remember to pray for me too, as I remember you. Thank you.
I greet the professors of the Catholic University
of Sydney, the choir of the Monastery of Grijó in Portugal, the faithful of
Barbianello and Campobasso.
I wish
everyone a happy Sunday. Do not forget to pray for me. And I would like to say
something to the children and youth: we want to hear your song! Arrivederci!
Enjoy your lunch! Sing!
© Copyright - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Post a Comment