At noon today in Rome, the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims who had gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the usual Sunday appointment.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, on the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the liturgy prepares us for the Nativity, which is knocking at our door, by inviting us to meditate on the story of the Angel's annunciation to Mary. The Archangel Gabriel reveals to the Virgin the will of the Lord that she should become the mother of the only-begotten Son: You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High (Lk 1:31-32). Let us fix our gaze on this simple girl from Nazareth, at the moment when she opens herself to receiving this divine message with her Yes; let us focus on two essential aspects of her response which can help us to prepare for Christmas.
First, her faith, her attitude of faith which consisted of listening to the Word of God in order to abandon herself to this word with full availability of mind and heart. Responding to the Angel, Mary says: Behold the servant of the Lord: be it done unto me according to your word (Lk 1:38). In her here I am which was full of faith, Mary doesn't know which path she is to follow, what suffering she must endure, what risks she will face. But she is aware that it is the Lord who is asking and she trusts Him entirely, she abandons herself to his love. This is Mary's faith!
Another aspect is the capacity of the Mother of Christ to recognize God's time. Mary is the one who made the incarnation of the Son of God possible, the revelation of the mystery which had been enwrapped in silence for long ages (Rm 16:25). She made the incarnation of the Word possible thanks to her humble and courageous yes. Mary teaches us to welcome the favourable moment when Jesus comes into our lives and calls for our prompt and generous response. And Jesus comes. In fact, the mystery of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, which occurred historically more than two thousand years ago, is made present as a spiritual event in the today of the liturgy. The Word, which found a home in the virginal womb of Mary, in the celebration of Christmas comes knocking again at the heart of every Christian: he comes and he knocks. Every one of us is called to respond, like Mary, with a personal and sincere yes, making ourselves entirely available to God and to his mercy, to his love. How many times does Jesus come into our lives, and how many times does he send his angel, and how many times do we not realize it, because we are so preoccupied, immersed in our own thoughts, our own busy-ness and even, these days, in our preparations for Christmas, not realizing that He comes and knocks at the door of our heart, seeking welcome, seeking a yes, like Mary's yes? One of the saints used to say: I'm afraid that the Lord is coming. Do you know why he was afraid? He was afraid of not welcoming Him, of letting Him pass by. When we feel in our hearts: I want to be better, better ... I'm sorry that I did this or that ... It is really Jesus who is knocking. He makes you feel this way: the desire to be better, the desire to remain close to others and to God. If you feel this way, stop. The Lord is there! Go and pray, and maybe go to confession, and polish your soul a bit ... it's good to do this. But remember: if you feel this desire to be better, it is He who is knocking: don't let him pass by!
In the mystery of Christmas, beside Mary, there is the silent presence of Saint Joseph, as we see in every crib - even the one that we can admire here in Saint Peter's Square. The example of Mary and of Joseph is for all of us an invitation to accept Jesus with total openness of soul, Jesus who out of love became our brother. He comes to bring the gift of peace into the world: On earth, peace to all men, who he loves (Lk 2:14), as the choirs of angels announced to the shepherds. The precious gift of Christmas is peace, and Christ is our true peace. Christ knocks at our hearts in order to give us peace, peace of soul. Let us open the door to Christ!
We entrust ourselves to the intercession of our Mother and of Saint Joseph, in order to live a truly Christian Christmas, free from all worldliness, ready to welcome the Saviour who is God-with-us.
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I greet you all, the faithful of Rome and pilgrims who have come from various countries; families, parish groups and associations.
I especially greet the young people from the Focolare Movement, the Pope John XXIII Community and the AGESCI Scouts from Tor Sapienza (Rome).
Don't forget: the Lord comes, and if you feel the need to better yourself, to be a bit better, it is the Lord who is knocking at your door. During this Christmas, the Lord is coming.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a Christmas of hope, with the doors open to the Lord, a Christmas of joy and of fraternity.
Don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch. Good bye!
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
before the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, on the fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the liturgy prepares us for the Nativity, which is knocking at our door, by inviting us to meditate on the story of the Angel's annunciation to Mary. The Archangel Gabriel reveals to the Virgin the will of the Lord that she should become the mother of the only-begotten Son: You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High (Lk 1:31-32). Let us fix our gaze on this simple girl from Nazareth, at the moment when she opens herself to receiving this divine message with her Yes; let us focus on two essential aspects of her response which can help us to prepare for Christmas.
First, her faith, her attitude of faith which consisted of listening to the Word of God in order to abandon herself to this word with full availability of mind and heart. Responding to the Angel, Mary says: Behold the servant of the Lord: be it done unto me according to your word (Lk 1:38). In her here I am which was full of faith, Mary doesn't know which path she is to follow, what suffering she must endure, what risks she will face. But she is aware that it is the Lord who is asking and she trusts Him entirely, she abandons herself to his love. This is Mary's faith!
Another aspect is the capacity of the Mother of Christ to recognize God's time. Mary is the one who made the incarnation of the Son of God possible, the revelation of the mystery which had been enwrapped in silence for long ages (Rm 16:25). She made the incarnation of the Word possible thanks to her humble and courageous yes. Mary teaches us to welcome the favourable moment when Jesus comes into our lives and calls for our prompt and generous response. And Jesus comes. In fact, the mystery of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, which occurred historically more than two thousand years ago, is made present as a spiritual event in the today of the liturgy. The Word, which found a home in the virginal womb of Mary, in the celebration of Christmas comes knocking again at the heart of every Christian: he comes and he knocks. Every one of us is called to respond, like Mary, with a personal and sincere yes, making ourselves entirely available to God and to his mercy, to his love. How many times does Jesus come into our lives, and how many times does he send his angel, and how many times do we not realize it, because we are so preoccupied, immersed in our own thoughts, our own busy-ness and even, these days, in our preparations for Christmas, not realizing that He comes and knocks at the door of our heart, seeking welcome, seeking a yes, like Mary's yes? One of the saints used to say: I'm afraid that the Lord is coming. Do you know why he was afraid? He was afraid of not welcoming Him, of letting Him pass by. When we feel in our hearts: I want to be better, better ... I'm sorry that I did this or that ... It is really Jesus who is knocking. He makes you feel this way: the desire to be better, the desire to remain close to others and to God. If you feel this way, stop. The Lord is there! Go and pray, and maybe go to confession, and polish your soul a bit ... it's good to do this. But remember: if you feel this desire to be better, it is He who is knocking: don't let him pass by!
In the mystery of Christmas, beside Mary, there is the silent presence of Saint Joseph, as we see in every crib - even the one that we can admire here in Saint Peter's Square. The example of Mary and of Joseph is for all of us an invitation to accept Jesus with total openness of soul, Jesus who out of love became our brother. He comes to bring the gift of peace into the world: On earth, peace to all men, who he loves (Lk 2:14), as the choirs of angels announced to the shepherds. The precious gift of Christmas is peace, and Christ is our true peace. Christ knocks at our hearts in order to give us peace, peace of soul. Let us open the door to Christ!
We entrust ourselves to the intercession of our Mother and of Saint Joseph, in order to live a truly Christian Christmas, free from all worldliness, ready to welcome the Saviour who is God-with-us.
After the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I greet you all, the faithful of Rome and pilgrims who have come from various countries; families, parish groups and associations.
I especially greet the young people from the Focolare Movement, the Pope John XXIII Community and the AGESCI Scouts from Tor Sapienza (Rome).
Don't forget: the Lord comes, and if you feel the need to better yourself, to be a bit better, it is the Lord who is knocking at your door. During this Christmas, the Lord is coming.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a Christmas of hope, with the doors open to the Lord, a Christmas of joy and of fraternity.
Don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch. Good bye!
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