Vatican City, Dec 14, 2016 / 04:54 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis Wednesday spoke about the hope that the Child Jesus brings at Christmastime, saying it is our duty to be the messengers that bring his message to the world – a world that is thirsting for goodness.
“The message of the Good News entrusted to us is urgent,” he said Dec. 14. “We must also run like the messenger of the mountains, because the world cannot wait, humanity is hungry and thirsty for justice, for truth and for peace.”
The Pope spoke during his general audience for the third week of Advent, continuing the series of catechesis he began last week on Christian hope.
Focusing on a passage from Book of Isaiah recounting how the messenger was “announcing peace” and “bringing good news,” the Pope said that we are also urged “to wake up, like Jerusalem.”
“We are called to become men and women of hope, collaborating in the coming of this kingdom made of light and intended for all.”
The most beautiful of all the Christmas joys is the joy of inner peace, the knowledge that “the Lord has blotted out my sins, the Lord has forgiven me, the Lord has had mercy on me, he came to my rescue,” Pope Francis said. “This is the joy of Christmas!”
There are so many negative things in the world, we can often become tired and tempted to say that nothing makes sense, Francis said.
However, these are “the reasons for our hope. When everything seems to be over… here was the good news brought by those fast feet: God is coming to do something new, to establish a kingdom of peace.”
In light of all that is wrong in the world, we are called to remember God’s promise to us, namely, that he would never abandon his people or let them be defeated by evil, the Pope said.
The answer to the questions: “who is greatest, God or sin?” and “what wins in the end? God or sin?” is something we must learn, he said, noting that the answer to both is God, since he is capable of conquering even “the biggest sin, the most shameful, the most terrible, the worst,” he continued.
“His weapon? Love!” The Pope said, explaining that this love is specifically God’s love made Incarnate when he came to us as a child, with all of the same needs as any newborn.
“And seeing the little child of Bethlehem, the little ones of the world will know that the promise was fulfilled, the message has come true,” he said. “In a newborn baby, in need of everything, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, it is enclosed all the power of the God who saves.”
Christmas is a day to open your heart to the smallness and wonder evoked by that child, he said.
“It is the wonder of Christmas, which we are preparing, with hope, in this Advent season. It is the wonder of a God child, a poor God, a weak God, a God who abandons his greatness to get close to each of us.”Pope Francis Wednesday spoke about the hope that the Child Jesus brings at Christmastime, saying it is our duty to be the messengers that bring his message to the world – a world that is thirsting for goodness.
“The message of the Good News entrusted to us is urgent,” he said Dec. 14. “We must also run like the messenger of the mountains, because the world cannot wait, humanity is hungry and thirsty for justice, for truth and for peace.”
The Pope spoke during his general audience for the third week of Advent, continuing the series of catechesis he began last week on Christian hope.
Focusing on a passage from Book of Isaiah recounting how the messenger was “announcing peace” and “bringing good news,” the Pope said that we are also urged “to wake up, like Jerusalem.”
“We are called to become men and women of hope, collaborating in the coming of this kingdom made of light and intended for all.”
The most beautiful of all the Christmas joys is the joy of inner peace, the knowledge that “the Lord has blotted out my sins, the Lord has forgiven me, the Lord has had mercy on me, he came to my rescue,” Pope Francis said. “This is the joy of Christmas!”
There are so many negative things in the world, we can often become tired and tempted to say that nothing makes sense, Francis said.
However, these are “the reasons for our hope. When everything seems to be over… here was the good news brought by those fast feet: God is coming to do something new, to establish a kingdom of peace.”
In light of all that is wrong in the world, we are called to remember God’s promise to us, namely, that he would never abandon his people or let them be defeated by evil, the Pope said.
The answer to the questions: “who is greatest, God or sin?” and “what wins in the end? God or sin?” is something we must learn, he said, noting that the answer to both is God, since he is capable of conquering even “the biggest sin, the most shameful, the most terrible, the worst,” he continued.
“His weapon? Love!” The Pope said, explaining that this love is specifically God’s love made Incarnate when he came to us as a child, with all of the same needs as any newborn.
“And seeing the little child of Bethlehem, the little ones of the world will know that the promise was fulfilled, the message has come true,” he said. “In a newborn baby, in need of everything, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, it is enclosed all the power of the God who saves.”
Christmas is a day to open your heart to the smallness and wonder evoked by that child, he said.
“It is the wonder of Christmas, which we are preparing, with hope, in this Advent season. It is the wonder of a God child, a poor God, a weak God, a God who abandons his greatness to get close to each of us.”
Article Archive
Pope: the world desperately needs hope – and we are the messengers
Related Articles • More Articles
A family of religious Jews walks at the beginning of Armenian Quarter Street, the entry point to the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem in April 2024. Behind them stands the complex of the Tower of David Museum. / Credit: Marinella BandiniJerusalem, May 1, 2024 / 13:05 pm (CNA).During the Jewish Passover (Pesach) in late April, an unprecedented initiative took place in Jerusalem. On the eve of the festivities, anticipating the arrival of numerous Jewish worshippers to fulfill religious precepts, several posters and pamphlets appeared in the streets of the Old City calling on the public to avoid offensive behavior and harassment toward Christians and non-Jews."We must together maintain 'Derech Eretz' ('proper behavior precedes the Torah') in regard to the respect of mankind, to non-Jews and those of a different religion, especially during Passover and throughout the entire year. We must prevent and prevent others from spitting in the direction of others who are not Jewish," a short e...
Sandra Miley emcees the Hispanic Eucharistic Convention on April 27, 2024, at the Gaylord of the Rockies Convention Center in Denver. / Credit: Denver CatholicDenver, Colo., May 1, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).In an environment filled with joy and hope, thousands of people met at the Gaylord of the Rockies Convention Center in Denver last Saturday to testify to and celebrate the Eucharist."I'm here because God called me to be here; I didn't plan on coming," Laura Paredes shared. "I had another event out of state. But God put some people in my path and my plans changed. This morning, as I entered the convention and saw the image on the screen, I said to myself, 'What a waste it would have been if I didn't come!' I'm filled with joy, that soul-filling joy, in my heart, and I know I'm here because he wanted me to be here."For many, like María de Jesús Fernández, attending this convention was a way to draw nearer to God and enhance her relationship with him."I very much need to grow close...
Pope Francis delivers a message during his general audience on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, May 1, 2024 / 09:45 am (CNA).On Wednesday, May 1, Pope Francis addressed an international audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican and reiterated the importance of faith in the Christian life as well as the need to continually pray for "real peace" for the whole world.The Holy Father also deplored war profiteering, decrying the actions of those "making money off death" through huge investments in the production of weapons.Speaking to thousands of people gathered inside Vatican City on an overcast morning on the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker, the Holy Father spoke about the three theological virtues, beginning with faith, as part of his ongoing catechesis series on vices and virtues.Pope Francis greets pilgrims attending his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall on May 1, 2024. Credit: Elizabeth Alva/CN...