At noon today in Rome (6:00am EST), the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study inside the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
On this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the Gospel (cf Mt 1:18-24) guides us towards Christmas through the experience of Saint Joseph, an apparently secondary figure, but in whose attitude all Christian wisdom is encapsulated. He, together with John the Baptist and Mary, is one of the characters that the liturgy offers us for the time of Advent; and of the three, he is the most modest. One who does not preach, does not speak, but tries to do the will of God; and he does it in the style of the Gospel and the Beatitudes. We think: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs (Mt 5: 3). And Joseph is poor because he lives on the essentials, he works, he lives on work; this is the typical poverty of those who are aware that they depend entirely on God and place their trust in Him.
Today's Gospel story presents a humanly embarrassing and conflicting situation. Joseph and Mary were betrothed; they were not yet living together, but she was expecting a child by God's intervention. Joseph, in his surprise, naturally was troubled but, instead of reacting in an impulsive and punitive way - as was customary, for the law protected him - , sought a solution that respected the dignity and integrity of his beloved Mary. The Gospel says: Joseph her husband, because he was a righteous man and did not want to accuse her publicly, wanted to secretly divorce her (Mt 1:19). In fact, Joseph was well aware of the fact that, if he had denounced his betrothed, he would have exposed her to serious consequences, even to death. He had full confidence in Mary, who he had chosen as his bride. He did not understand but he sought another solution.
This inexplicable circumstance led him to question their bond; therefore, with great suffering, he decided to detach himself from Mary without creating scandal. But the Angel of the Lord intervened to tell him that the solution he was proposing was not the one willed by God. Indeed, the Lord opened a new path for him, a path of union, love and happiness and said to him: «Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife. In fact, the child who is within her comes from the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:20).
At this point, Joseph totally trusted God, obeyed the Angel's words and took Mary with him. It was precisely this unwavering trust in God that allowed him to accept a humanly difficult and, in a certain sense, incomprehensible situation. In faith, Joseph understood that the child born in Mary's womb was not his son, but he is the Son of God and he, Joseph, would be its custodian, fully assuming his earthly paternity. The example of this meek and wise man urges us to look up and push ourselves further. It is a matter of recovering the surprising logic of God who, far from small or large calculations, is made of openness to new horizons, towards Christ and his Word.
May the Virgin Mary and her chaste husband Joseph help us to listen to Jesus who comes, and who asks to be welcomed in our plans and choices.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters!
I greet all of you, faithful of Rome and pilgrims from Italy and from other countries.
In particular, I greet the delegations of Italian citizens who live in severely polluted areas and who aspire to a better quality of the environment and fair health protection.
In three days it will be Christmas and my thoughts go especially to the families, to your families who are gathering in these days: those who live far from their parents leave and go home; brothers try to find each other. May Christmas be an occasion of fraternity, growth in faith and gestures of solidarity for all of us towards those in need. And may Saint Joseph accompany us on this journey towards Christmas.
I wish you a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye.
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
On this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, the Gospel (cf Mt 1:18-24) guides us towards Christmas through the experience of Saint Joseph, an apparently secondary figure, but in whose attitude all Christian wisdom is encapsulated. He, together with John the Baptist and Mary, is one of the characters that the liturgy offers us for the time of Advent; and of the three, he is the most modest. One who does not preach, does not speak, but tries to do the will of God; and he does it in the style of the Gospel and the Beatitudes. We think: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs (Mt 5: 3). And Joseph is poor because he lives on the essentials, he works, he lives on work; this is the typical poverty of those who are aware that they depend entirely on God and place their trust in Him.
Today's Gospel story presents a humanly embarrassing and conflicting situation. Joseph and Mary were betrothed; they were not yet living together, but she was expecting a child by God's intervention. Joseph, in his surprise, naturally was troubled but, instead of reacting in an impulsive and punitive way - as was customary, for the law protected him - , sought a solution that respected the dignity and integrity of his beloved Mary. The Gospel says: Joseph her husband, because he was a righteous man and did not want to accuse her publicly, wanted to secretly divorce her (Mt 1:19). In fact, Joseph was well aware of the fact that, if he had denounced his betrothed, he would have exposed her to serious consequences, even to death. He had full confidence in Mary, who he had chosen as his bride. He did not understand but he sought another solution.
This inexplicable circumstance led him to question their bond; therefore, with great suffering, he decided to detach himself from Mary without creating scandal. But the Angel of the Lord intervened to tell him that the solution he was proposing was not the one willed by God. Indeed, the Lord opened a new path for him, a path of union, love and happiness and said to him: «Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife. In fact, the child who is within her comes from the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:20).
At this point, Joseph totally trusted God, obeyed the Angel's words and took Mary with him. It was precisely this unwavering trust in God that allowed him to accept a humanly difficult and, in a certain sense, incomprehensible situation. In faith, Joseph understood that the child born in Mary's womb was not his son, but he is the Son of God and he, Joseph, would be its custodian, fully assuming his earthly paternity. The example of this meek and wise man urges us to look up and push ourselves further. It is a matter of recovering the surprising logic of God who, far from small or large calculations, is made of openness to new horizons, towards Christ and his Word.
May the Virgin Mary and her chaste husband Joseph help us to listen to Jesus who comes, and who asks to be welcomed in our plans and choices.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters!
I greet all of you, faithful of Rome and pilgrims from Italy and from other countries.
In particular, I greet the delegations of Italian citizens who live in severely polluted areas and who aspire to a better quality of the environment and fair health protection.
In three days it will be Christmas and my thoughts go especially to the families, to your families who are gathering in these days: those who live far from their parents leave and go home; brothers try to find each other. May Christmas be an occasion of fraternity, growth in faith and gestures of solidarity for all of us towards those in need. And may Saint Joseph accompany us on this journey towards Christmas.
I wish you a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye.
Testo originale nella lingua italiana
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