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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged Christians to allow themselves to be challenged by the Child in the manger, and also by the children of today’s world, so many of whom are suffering.

During the Holy Christmas Mass homily, celebrated in St. Peter’s  Basilica on Saturday evening, Christmas Eve, the Pope spoke of those children “who are not lying in a cot caressed with the affection of a mother and father” , of those hiding underground to escape bombardment, of those  on the the bottom of a boat overladen with immigrants.

“Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the children who are not allowed to be born, by those who cry because no one satiates their hunger, by those who do have not toys in their hands, but rather weapons” he said.

Please find below the official translation of  the full text of Pope Francis’ homily:

“The grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men” (Tit 2:11).  The words of the Apostle Paul reveal the mystery of this holy night: the grace of God has appeared, his gift is free; in the Child given unto us the love of God is made visible. 

It is a night of glory, that glory proclaimed by the angels in Bethlehem and also by us today all over the world.  It is a night of joy, because from this day forth, and for all times, the infinite and eternal God is God with us: he is not far off, we need not search for him in the heavens or in mystical notions; he is close, he is been made man and will never distance himself from our humanity, which he has made his own.  It is a night of light: that light, prophesied by Isaiah (cf. 9:1), which would illumine those who walk in darkness, has appeared and enveloped the shepherds of Bethlehem (cf. Lk 2:9).

The shepherds simply discover that “unto us a child is born” (Is 9:5) and they understand that all this glory, all this joy, all this light converges to one single point, that sign which the angel indicated to them: “you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12).  This is the enduring sign to find Jesus.  Not just then, but also today.  If we want to celebrate Christmas authentically, we need to contemplate this sign: the fragile simplicity of a small newborn, the meekness of where he lies, the tender affection of the swaddling clothes.  God is there.

With this sign the Gospel reveals a paradox: it speaks of the emperor, the governor, the mighty of those times, but God does not make himself present there; he does not appear in the grand hall of a royal palace, but in the poverty of a stable; not in pomp and show, but in the simplicity of life; not in power, but in a smallness which surprises.  In order to discover him, we need to go there, where he is: we need to bow down, humble ourselves, make ourselves small.  The Child who is born challenges us: he calls us to leave behind fleeting illusions and go to the essence, to renounce our insatiable claims, to abandon our endless dissatisfaction and sadness for something we will never have.  It will help us to leave these things behind in order to rediscover in the simplicity of the God-child, peace, joy and the meaning of life.

Let us allow the Child in the manger to challenge us, but let us also allow ourselves to be challenged by the children of today’s world, who are not lying in a cot caressed with the affection of a mother and father, but rather suffer the squalid “mangers that devour dignity”: hiding underground to escape bombardment, on the pavements of a large city, at the bottom of a boat overladen with immigrants.  Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the children who are not allowed to be born, by those who cry because no one satiates their hunger, by those who do have not toys in their hands, but rather weapons.

The mystery of Christmas, which is light and joy, questions and unsettles us, because it is at once both a mystery of hope and of sadness.  It bears within itself the taste of sadness, inasmuch as love is not received, and life discarded.  This happened to Joseph and Mary, who found the doors closed, and placed Jesus in a manger, “because there was no place for them in the inn” (v. 7).  Jesus was born rejected by some and regarded by many others with indifference.  Today also the same indifference can exist, when Christmas becomes a feast where the protagonists are ourselves, rather than Jesus; when the lights of commerce cast the light of God into the shadows; when we are concerned for gifts but cold towards those who are marginalized. 

Yet Christmas has essentially a flavour of hope because, notwithstanding the darker aspects of our lives, God’s light shines out.  His gentle light does not make us fear; God who is in love with us, draws us to himself with his tenderness, born poor and fragile among us, as one of us.  He is born in Bethlehem, which means “house of bread”.  In this way he seems to tell us that he is born as bread for us; he enters life to give us his life; he comes into our world to give us his love.  He does not come to devour or to command but to nourish and to serve.  Thus there is a direct thread joining the manger and the cross, where Jesus will become bread that is broken: it is the direct thread of love which is given and which saves us, which brings light to our lives, and peace to our hearts. 

The shepherds grasped this in that night.  They were among the marginalized of those times.  But no one is marginalized in the sight of God and it was precisely they who were invited to the Nativity.  Those who felt sure of themselves, self-sufficient, were at home with their possessions; the shepherds instead “went with haste” (cf. Lk 2:16).  Let us allow ourselves also to be challenged and convened tonight by Jesus.  Let us go to him with trust, from that area in us we feel to be marginalized, from our own limitations.  Let us touch the tenderness which saves.  Let us draw close to God who draws close to us, let us pause to look upon the crib, and imagine the birth of Jesus: light, peace, utmost poverty, and rejection.  Let us enter into the real Nativity with the shepherds, taking to Jesus all that we are, our alienation, our unhealed wounds.  Then, in Jesus we will enjoy the flavour of the true spirit of Christmas: the beauty of being loved by God.  With Mary and Joseph we pause before the manger, before Jesus who is born as bread for my life.

Contemplating his humble and infinite love, let us say to him: thank you, thank you because you have done all this for me.                               

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Vatican City, Dec 24, 2016 / 03:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis noted how the coming of Jesus as an infant is paradoxical to the images of grandeur that had accompanied the prophesies on the coming of the Messiah, saying this should challenges us to go beyond the ephemeral and focus on what really counts.

“If we want to celebrate Christmas authentically, we need to contemplate this sign: the fragile simplicity of a small newborn, the meekness of where he lies, the tender affection of the swaddling clothes. God is there,” the Pope said Dec. 24.

This is the “enduring sign to find Jesus,” he said. “Not just then, but also today.”

He noted how the day’s Gospel reading revealed “a paradox,” speaking of the emperor and mighty people of those times, yet God doesn’t manifest himself there.

Jesus “does not appear in the grand hall of a royal palace, but in the poverty of a stable; not in pomp and show, but in the simplicity of life; not in power, but in a smallness which surprises,” Francis said.

So if we want to find him, “we need to go there, where he is: we need to bow down, humble ourselves, make ourselves small.”

Pope Francis spoke to attendees of his Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. During this year’s procession, a Vatican police officer and firefighter were chosen to carry the statue of the baby Jesus as a sign of gratitude for the 200th anniversary of the Gendarmerie, as well as the help the firefighters offered to those affected by the earthquakes in Central Italy earlier this fall.

In his homily, the Pope said the Child Jesus “challenges us” by inviting us “to leave behind fleeting illusions and go to the essence, to renounce our insatiable claims, to abandon our endless dissatisfaction and sadness for something we will never have” and rediscover “peace, joy and the meaning of life.”

The infant in the manger is a challenge, but Francis also urged attendees to allow themselves to be challenged by the children of today, “who are not lying in a cot caressed with the affection of a mother and father, but rather suffer the squalid mangers that devour dignity.”

Many children today hide underground to escape bombs or are forced to sleep either on the streets of large cities or at the bottom boats overflowing with immigrants, he said, noting that this reality should also challenge us.

“Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the children who are not allowed to be born, by those who cry because no one satiates their hunger, by those who have not toys in their hands, but rather weapons.”

Christmas is both a mystery of hope and of sadness, he said, noting how the arrival of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem points us to the indifference of many in the face of those who are discarded.

The same indifference is present modern society “when Christmas becomes a feast where the protagonists are ourselves, rather than Jesus; when the lights of commerce cast the light of God into the shadows; when we are concerned for gifts but cold towards those who are marginalized,” he said.

However, Christmas is also a sign of hope, because despite the darkness in our lives, God's light “shines out.” His gentle light doesn’t make us fearful, but rather, “God who is in love with us, draws us to himself with his tenderness, born poor and fragile among us, as one of us.”

Pope Francis closed his homily encouraging everyone to let themselves be challenged by Jesus, and walk toward him with trust from the part of us in which we ourselves feel marginalized and limited.

He told them to take time to pause and look at the crib where Jesus was born, imagining the “light, peace, utmost poverty and rejection” that accompanied his birth.

“Let us enter into the real Nativity with the shepherds, taking to Jesus all that we are, our alienation, our unhealed wounds. Then, in Jesus we will enjoy the flavor of the true spirit of Christmas: the beauty of being loved by God.”

Please see below for the full text of the Pope’s homily:

“The grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men” (Tit 2:11). The words of the Apostle Paul reveal the mystery of this holy night: the grace of God has appeared, his gift is free; in the Child given unto us the love of God is made visible.

It is a night of glory, that glory proclaimed by the angels in Bethlehem and also by us today all over the world. It is a night of joy, because from this day forth, and for all times, the infinite and eternal God is God with us: he is not far off, we need not search for him in the heavens or in mystical notions; he is close, he is been made man and will never distance himself from our humanity, which he has made his own. It is a night of light: that light, prophesied by Isaiah (cf. 9:1), which would illumine those who walk in darkness, has appeared and enveloped the shepherds of Bethlehem (cf. Lk 2:9).

The shepherds simply discover that “unto us a child is born” (Is 9:5) and they understand that all this glory, all this joy, all this light converges to one single point, that sign which the angel indicated to them: “you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12). This is the enduring sign to find Jesus. Not just then, but also today. If we want to celebrate Christmas authentically, we need to contemplate this sign: the fragile simplicity of a small newborn, the meekness of where he lies, the tender affection of the swaddling clothes. God is there.

With this sign the Gospel reveals a paradox: it speaks of the emperor, the governor, the mighty of those times, but God does not make himself present there; he does not appear in the grand hall of a royal palace, but in the poverty of a stable; not in pomp and show, but in the simplicity of life; not in power, but in a smallness which surprises. In order to discover him, we need to go there, where he is: we need to bow down, humble ourselves, make ourselves small. The Child who is born challenges us: he calls us to leave behind fleeting illusions and go to the essence, to renounce our insatiable claims, to abandon our endless dissatisfaction and sadness for something we will never have. It will help us to leave these things behind in order to rediscover in the simplicity of the God-child, peace, joy and the meaning of life.

Let us allow the Child in the manger to challenge us, but let us also allow ourselves to be challenged by the children of today’s world, who are not lying in a cot caressed with the affection of a mother and father, but rather suffer the squalid “mangers that devour dignity:” hiding underground to escape bombardment, on the pavements of a large city, at the bottom of a boat overladen with immigrants. Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the children who are not allowed to be born, by those who cry because no one satiates their hunger, by those who have not toys in their hands, but rather weapons.

The mystery of Christmas, which is light and joy, questions and unsettles us, because it is at once both a mystery of hope and of sadness. It bears within itself the taste of sadness, inasmuch as love is not received, and life discarded. This happened to Joseph and Mary, who found the doors closed, and placed Jesus in a manger, “because there was no place for them in the inn” (v. 7). Jesus was born rejected by some and regarded by many others with indifference. Today also the same indifference can exist, when Christmas becomes a feast where the protagonists are ourselves, rather than Jesus; when the lights of commerce cast the light of God into the shadows; when we are concerned for gifts but cold towards those who are marginalized.

Yet Christmas has essentially a flavor of hope because, notwithstanding the darker aspects of our lives, God’s light shines out. His gentle light does not make us fear; God who is in love with us, draws us to himself with his tenderness, born poor and fragile among us, as one of us. He is born in Bethlehem, which means “house of bread.” In this way he seems to tell us that he is born as bread for us; he enters life to give us his life; he comes into our world to give us his love. He does not come to devour or to command but to nourish and to serve. Thus there is a direct thread joining the manger and the cross, where Jesus will become bread that is broken: it is the direct thread of love which is given and which saves us, which brings light to our lives, and peace to our hearts.

The shepherds grasped this in that night. They were among the marginalized of those times. But no one is marginalized in the sight of God and it was precisely they who were invited to the Nativity. Those who felt sure of themselves, self-sufficient, were at home with their possessions; the shepherds instead “went with haste” (cf. Lk 2:16). Let us allow ourselves also to be challenged and convened tonight by Jesus. Let us go to him with trust, from that area in us we feel to be marginalized, from our own limitations. Let us touch the tenderness which saves. Let us draw close to God who draws close to us, let us pause to look upon the crib, and imagine the birth of Jesus: light, peace, utmost poverty and rejection. Let us enter into the real Nativity with the shepherds, taking to Jesus all that we are, our alienation, our unhealed wounds. Then, in Jesus we will enjoy the flavor of the true spirit of Christmas: the beauty of being loved by God. With Mary and Joseph we pause before the manger, before Jesus who is born as bread for my life. Contemplating his humble and infinite love, let us say to him: thank you, thank you because you have done all this for me.

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Vatican City, Dec 24, 2016 / 10:04 am (CNA).- If there's anything Pope Francis' recent 12-point plan for the reform of the Roman Curia shows, it's that while his vision of a simple, less clerical body is clear, it's contingent on one thing: conversion.

In a Dec. 22 speech to members of the Curia, the Pope, before outlining his guide to reform, stressed that “the reform will be effective only if it is carried out with men and women who are renewed and not simply new.”

Merely changing staff and structures is not enough, he said, calling for the “spiritual, human and professional renewal among the members of the Curia.”

Reform, he said, “is in no way implemented with a change of persons – something that certainly is happening and will continue to happen – but with a conversion in persons.”

“What we need also and above all is permanent conversion and purification. Without a change of mentality, efforts at practical improvement will be in vain.”

All this comes in the first part of a lengthy, in-depth speech Francis gave to the Curia offering what he said are the key principals that ought to guide ongoing reform efforts. He gives the speech annually, and this year his focus on conversion not only in the first part, but throughout the entire 7-page text, seems to lay the groundwork for what his 12-point guide should be built on.

After focusing on the birth of Jesus, the Pope went on to highlight 12 “guiding principles” at the heart of his vision for the ongoing Curial reform: individuality (personal conversion); pastoral concern (pastoral conversion); missionary spirit (Christocentrism); rationality; functionality; modernization; sobriety; subsidiarity; synodality; catholicity; professionalism and gradualism (discernment).

Conversion is a theme alluded to throughout the 12 points. In his first note on individuality, the Pope again reaffirmed “the importance of individual conversion, without which all structural change would prove useless.”

“The true soul of the reform are the men and women who are part of it and make it possible,” he said, explaining that personal and individual conversion eventually lead to and support conversion for the community as a whole. Though he also cautioned that while one person can bring “great good to the entire body,” they can also cause “great harm and lead to sickness” if personal sanctity isn’t a priority.

However, the Pope’s repeated focus on conversion coupled with some harsh critiques of unhealthy curial attitudes in the past have rubbed some the wrong way.

In 2014 Francis held nothing back when he spoke to the Curia, outlining 15 spiritual “diseases” involving not only the tendency toward careerism and an attitude of superiority, but an uncurbed desire for wealth and power typical of a “hypocritical” double life that has forgotten the joy of serving God and others.

Then in 2015 he offered a “catalog of virtues” the curial officials ought to adopt in order for their service “to be more fruitful,” including humility, respect, honesty and sobriety. These, in many ways, were the remedy for illnesses outlined in the previous year’s grilling speech.

Francis himself told members of the Curia this year that the underlying reason for identifying these diseases and virtues is that “the ‘semper reformanda’ (always being reformed) must also become, in the case of the Curia, a permanent personal and structural process of conversion.”

“It was necessary to speak of disease and cures because every surgical operation, if it is to be successful, must be preceded by detailed diagnosis and careful analysis, and needs to be accompanied and followed up by precise prescriptions.”

The Pope’s emphasis on conversion, then, is not so much a jab at the Curia, as some have made it out to be, as much as it is a jab at sin itself and how it manifests in the Church. If anything, his insistence on this point is evidence of just how crucial he sees conversion as being to the final, positive result of the reform.

Neither is it anything new. Pope Francis has spoken about the importance and necessity of conversion and attention to person holiness even from his time in Buenos Aires.

In the 2010 book “On Heaven and Earth,” which is a conversation between Pope Francis and his good friend Abraham Skorka, a rabbi and scholar from Buenos Aires, the then-cardinal archbishop of the city spoke on a variety of topics, but the centrality of holiness in regards to the Church’s mission was by far the most potent.

In the book, Bergoglio insisted that holiness is essential to leadership in religious organizations, saying it is “a springboard to the transcendent.”

“With regards to religion, holiness is unavoidable for a leader,” he said, and, touching on various periods of difficulty and corruption in the Church’s history, noted that “religion bounced back” when figures such as newly-canonized St. Teresa of Calcutta appeared to “rejuvenate religious fervor.”

Alejandro Bermudez, Executive Director of Catholic News Agency and the book’s translator from Spanish to English, said in April 2013, just two months after Francis’ election, that “it's impossible to understand anything this Pope is doing without understanding personal conversion.”

He pointed specifically to “the very profound Jesuit tradition of the change of heart,” which he said goes hand in hand with the Pope’s idea of conversion.

Bermudez, who interviewed Francis a number of times while he was still in Buenos Aires, insisted that “only the changing of the heart will create a change in the Church, and a change in the Church is what will create a change in society and culture.”

“For Pope Francis there is no way around that reality – that arises only from a converted heart.”

So while the stern tone of the Pope’s speeches might leave some feeling slighted and longing for a warmer approach, Francis seems to be indicating that sometimes tough love is needed more than a pat on the back.

A look at the bigger picture with conversion as the frame shows that for Francis, who was elected with a mandate for reform, a thorough examination of conscious is needed as these reform efforts continue to roll steadily forward.

More than singling anyone out or taking a swing at his officials, the Pope seems to be inviting curial members to ask themselves whether they might be infected with any of the “diseases” he identified, to apply the right virtues if the answer is yes, and to move on.

After all, the Church ultimately isn’t here to make us feel good, but to help us conform to Christ and draw nearer to him. The Pope’s plan for reform, then, seems to be founded on and aimed at just that.

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Vatican City, Dec 24, 2016 / 10:41 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Two days after the announcement that Pope Francis has established a group to look into the circumstances regarding the recent dismissal of the Order of Malta's former Grand Chancellor, the Knights responded – saying the decision was an internal matter.

The response follows the forced resignation of leader Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, which some attribute to controversy regarding the order's charity branch being allegedly involved in distributing condoms in Myanmar to prevent HIV.

On Dec. 22 the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had formed a group of five “senior officials” tasked with “gathering any liable factors” and to “fully and quickly inform the Holy See on the matter that has recently affected the Grand Chancellor of the Order, Mr. Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager.”

Members of the group include Archbishop Silvestro Tomasi, Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda S.J., Belgian lawyer Mr. Jacques de Liedekerke, Mr. Marc Odendall and Mr. Marwan Sehnaoui.

In response to the formation of the group, the Knights of Malta issued a Dec. 24 statement saying the replacement of a Grand Chancellor is “an act of internal governmental administration” that falls solely in the Order’s competence.

“The aforementioned appointment is the result of a misunderstanding by the Secretariat of State of the Holy See,” the statement continued.

It noted that the Order’s Grand Master, Matthew Festing, wrote a letter to Pope Francis yesterday explaining why the Holy See’s suggestions were therefore “unacceptable,” while at the same time assuring the Pope of his “filial devotion.”

According to a previous, Dec. 13 statement from the Order, Albrecht von Boeselager and his position as Grand Chancellor was the subject of an “extremely grave and untenable situation” Dec. 6, just a few days earlier.

Festing then called Boeselager to take part in a meeting with the Order’s Grand Commander, Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein, and Cardinal Raymond Burke, the Order’s papal representative, in order to ask for his resignation.

After twice refusing to submit his resignation, Boeselager was, “with the backing of the Grand Master and the Sovereign Council and most members of the Order around the world,” forced to resign as part of a “disciplinary procedure” which can result in the suspension of a person’s membership in the Order.

The reason for Boeselager’s removal, the statement read, “was due to severe problems which occurred during Boeselager’s tenure as Grand Hospitaller of the Order of Malta, and his subsequent concealment of these problems from the Grand Magistry, as proved in a report commissioned by the Grand Master last year.”

A day later, Dec. 14, the appointment of John Edward Critien as the Grand Chancellor ad interim was announced by the order.

While the real reasons for Boeselager’s removal are still unknown, many have speculated that it is due at least in part to a program the order’s charity branch took part in several years ago offering aid to sex slaves in Myanmar.

Part of the aid included giving condoms to the women in order to protect against HIV. However, Boeselager argued at the time that the condoms were distributed by other aid programs, and not his own.

The Vatican was informed about the incident and the order’s involvement in the program ceased. An ethics committee was then launched in order to ensure that similar mistakes weren’t made in future projects.

Pope Francis’ establishment of the group, then, seems to be aimed at gathering an accurate reading of the facts. Whether or not he will respond to Festing’s letter is yet to be seen.

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