At noon today in Rome (6:00am EST), 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 gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the usual Sunday appointment.
On this III Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday), children from the Roman Oratories Centre (COR) and from the parishes and families of Rome were present for the blessing of the Bambinelli (figurines of the infant Jesus).
On this third Sunday of Advent, the liturgy invites us to joy. Listen carefully: joy. The prophet Zephaniah speaks to the small portion of the people of Israel with these words: Rejoice, children of Zion, cry out with joy, Israel, exult and acclaim with all your hearts, daughter of Jerusalem (Zeph 3:14). Cry out with joy, exult, rejoice: this is this Sunday's invitation. The inhabitants of the holy city are called to rejoice because the Lord has revoked his condemnation (cf Zeph 3:15). God has forgiven, he didn't want to punish! Therefore, there is no longer any reason for the people to be sad, there is no longer any reason for discouragement; instead, everything leads to a joyful gratitude to God, who always wants to redeem and save those he loves. And the love of the Lord for his people is incessant, comparable to the tenderness of a father for his children, of a bridegroom for his bride, as Zephaniah says: He will rejoice over you, he will renew you with his love, he will exult over you with shouts of joy (Zeph 3:17). This is - as it is called - the Sunday of joy: the third Sunday of Advent, before Christmas.
This appeal by the prophet is especially appropriate in the days while we prepare for Christmas, because it applies to Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us: his presence is the source of joy. In fact, Zephaniah proclaims: The king of Israel is the Lord among you; and a little later he repeats: The Lord your God is a mighty saviour among you (Zeph 3:15,17). This message finds its full meaning in the moment of the Annunciation, which is narrated by the evangelist Luke. The words addressed by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin are like an echo of those of the prophet. What does the archangel Gabriel say? Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you (Lk 1:28). Rejoice, he tells the Madonna. In a remote village in Galilee, in the heart of a young woman unknown to the world, God ignites the spark of happiness for the whole world. And today the same proclamation is addressed to the Church, called to welcome the Gospel so that it may become flesh, concrete life. He says to the Church and to all of us: Rejoice, small Christian community, poor and humble but beautiful in my eyes because you ardently desire my Kingdom, you are hungry and thirsty for justice, patiently weaving plots of peace, do not pursue the powerful on earth but stay faithfully next to the poor. And so you are not afraid of anything but your heart is filled with joy. If we live like this, in the presence of the Lord, our heart will always be joyful. The high level joy, when it is full blown, and the humble joy of every day, that is peace. Peace is the smallest joy, but it is joy.
Today too, Saint Paul urges us not to worry, not to despair at all, but in all circumstances to make our requests, our needs, our concerns present to God with prayers and petitions (Phil 4:6). The awareness that in difficulties we can always turn to the Lord, and that He never rejects our invocations is a great reason for joy. No worry, no fear will ever take away the serenity that comes not from human things, from human consolations; no, the serenity that comes from God, from knowing that God lovingly guides our lives, and that he always does this. Even in the midst of problems and sufferings, this certainty nourishes hope and courage.
But in order to welcome the Lord's invitation to joy, we need to be people willing to question ourselves. What does this mean? Just like those who, after having listened to the preaching of John the Baptist, ask him: you preach like this, and we, what shall we do? (Lk 3:10) What should I do? This is the conversion we are invited to encounter during this time of Advent. Everyone of us is asked: what should I do? This is a small thing: what should I do? May the Virgin Mary, who is our mother, help us to open the our hearts to the God who comes, because He floods our whole life with joy.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Last week, the World Agreement for Safe, Regular and Ordinary Migration was approved in Marrakech, Morocco. This pact is intended to be a reference framework for the whole international community. I therefore hope that, by means of this instrument, major decision makers can work with responsibility, solidarity and compassion for the good of those who, for various reasons, have left their countries, and I entrust this intention to your prayers.
I greet all of you, families, parish groups and associations, who have come from Rome, Italy and many parts of the world. In particular I greet the pilgrims from Seville, Hamburg, Munich and Chapelle, in Belgium. I greet the faithful of Pescara, Potenza, Bucchianico, Fabriano and Blera; the Comboni Lay Missionaries; and the Scouts from Jesolo and Ca 'Savio.
And now I want to speak especially to you, dear children of Rome, who have come for the blessing of the bambinelli (small statues of the infant Jesus). You are accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Gianrico Ruzza. I thank the Roman Oratories Centre and their volunteers. Dear children, when you gather in prayer in front of the nativity scene inside your homes, fixing your gaze on the Child Jesus you will feel astonishment ... You ask me: what does amazement mean? It is a stronger feeling, it is more than a common emotion. It is seeing God: the wonder we experience for the great mystery of God made man; and the Holy Spirit will put into the heart the humility, the tenderness and the goodness of Jesus. Jesus is good, Jesus is tender, Jesus is humble. This is the real meaning of Christmas! Do not forget. That's the same for you and your family members. I bless all the Bambinelli.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a good third week of Advent. With joy, with much joy and much peace when joy is not possible. And please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye.
On this III Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday), children from the Roman Oratories Centre (COR) and from the parishes and families of Rome were present for the blessing of the Bambinelli (figurines of the infant Jesus).
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
On this third Sunday of Advent, the liturgy invites us to joy. Listen carefully: joy. The prophet Zephaniah speaks to the small portion of the people of Israel with these words: Rejoice, children of Zion, cry out with joy, Israel, exult and acclaim with all your hearts, daughter of Jerusalem (Zeph 3:14). Cry out with joy, exult, rejoice: this is this Sunday's invitation. The inhabitants of the holy city are called to rejoice because the Lord has revoked his condemnation (cf Zeph 3:15). God has forgiven, he didn't want to punish! Therefore, there is no longer any reason for the people to be sad, there is no longer any reason for discouragement; instead, everything leads to a joyful gratitude to God, who always wants to redeem and save those he loves. And the love of the Lord for his people is incessant, comparable to the tenderness of a father for his children, of a bridegroom for his bride, as Zephaniah says: He will rejoice over you, he will renew you with his love, he will exult over you with shouts of joy (Zeph 3:17). This is - as it is called - the Sunday of joy: the third Sunday of Advent, before Christmas.
This appeal by the prophet is especially appropriate in the days while we prepare for Christmas, because it applies to Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us: his presence is the source of joy. In fact, Zephaniah proclaims: The king of Israel is the Lord among you; and a little later he repeats: The Lord your God is a mighty saviour among you (Zeph 3:15,17). This message finds its full meaning in the moment of the Annunciation, which is narrated by the evangelist Luke. The words addressed by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin are like an echo of those of the prophet. What does the archangel Gabriel say? Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you (Lk 1:28). Rejoice, he tells the Madonna. In a remote village in Galilee, in the heart of a young woman unknown to the world, God ignites the spark of happiness for the whole world. And today the same proclamation is addressed to the Church, called to welcome the Gospel so that it may become flesh, concrete life. He says to the Church and to all of us: Rejoice, small Christian community, poor and humble but beautiful in my eyes because you ardently desire my Kingdom, you are hungry and thirsty for justice, patiently weaving plots of peace, do not pursue the powerful on earth but stay faithfully next to the poor. And so you are not afraid of anything but your heart is filled with joy. If we live like this, in the presence of the Lord, our heart will always be joyful. The high level joy, when it is full blown, and the humble joy of every day, that is peace. Peace is the smallest joy, but it is joy.
Today too, Saint Paul urges us not to worry, not to despair at all, but in all circumstances to make our requests, our needs, our concerns present to God with prayers and petitions (Phil 4:6). The awareness that in difficulties we can always turn to the Lord, and that He never rejects our invocations is a great reason for joy. No worry, no fear will ever take away the serenity that comes not from human things, from human consolations; no, the serenity that comes from God, from knowing that God lovingly guides our lives, and that he always does this. Even in the midst of problems and sufferings, this certainty nourishes hope and courage.
But in order to welcome the Lord's invitation to joy, we need to be people willing to question ourselves. What does this mean? Just like those who, after having listened to the preaching of John the Baptist, ask him: you preach like this, and we, what shall we do? (Lk 3:10) What should I do? This is the conversion we are invited to encounter during this time of Advent. Everyone of us is asked: what should I do? This is a small thing: what should I do? May the Virgin Mary, who is our mother, help us to open the our hearts to the God who comes, because He floods our whole life with joy.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Last week, the World Agreement for Safe, Regular and Ordinary Migration was approved in Marrakech, Morocco. This pact is intended to be a reference framework for the whole international community. I therefore hope that, by means of this instrument, major decision makers can work with responsibility, solidarity and compassion for the good of those who, for various reasons, have left their countries, and I entrust this intention to your prayers.
I greet all of you, families, parish groups and associations, who have come from Rome, Italy and many parts of the world. In particular I greet the pilgrims from Seville, Hamburg, Munich and Chapelle, in Belgium. I greet the faithful of Pescara, Potenza, Bucchianico, Fabriano and Blera; the Comboni Lay Missionaries; and the Scouts from Jesolo and Ca 'Savio.
And now I want to speak especially to you, dear children of Rome, who have come for the blessing of the bambinelli (small statues of the infant Jesus). You are accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Gianrico Ruzza. I thank the Roman Oratories Centre and their volunteers. Dear children, when you gather in prayer in front of the nativity scene inside your homes, fixing your gaze on the Child Jesus you will feel astonishment ... You ask me: what does amazement mean? It is a stronger feeling, it is more than a common emotion. It is seeing God: the wonder we experience for the great mystery of God made man; and the Holy Spirit will put into the heart the humility, the tenderness and the goodness of Jesus. Jesus is good, Jesus is tender, Jesus is humble. This is the real meaning of Christmas! Do not forget. That's the same for you and your family members. I bless all the Bambinelli.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a good third week of Advent. With joy, with much joy and much peace when joy is not possible. And please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye.
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