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.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Last Sunday, the liturgy introduced us to the season of Advent and to waiting for the Lord with an attitude of vigilance and prayer: stay awake and pray. Today, on the second Sunday of Advent, we see how we can give substance to this expectation: how we can make this expectation concrete. As a guide for this journey, the Gospel presents the figure of John the Baptist, who traveled throughout the Jordan region, preaching a baptism of conversion for the forgiveness of sins (Lk 3:3). To describe the mission of the Baptist, the evangelist Luke refers to the ancient prophecy of Isaiah, which says: "A voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight! Every valley will be raised, every mountain and every hill will be made low (Lk 3:4-5).
To prepare the way for the Lord who is coming, it is necessary to take into account the demands of conversion to which the Baptist invites us. What are these needs for conversion? First of all we are called to reclaim the depressions produced by coldness and indifference, opening ourselves to others with the same sentiments of Jesus, that is, with that cordiality and fraternal attention that takes responsibility for the needs of our neighbour. Reclaim the depressions produced by coldness. You cannot have a relationship of love, charity, or fraternity with others if there are holes, as you can not set out on a road with many holes. This requires changing attitudes. And all this, we can and should do with special care for those who are most in need. Then we need to lower so much harshness caused by pride. How many people, perhaps without realizing it, are superb, harsh, or do not have that relationship of cordiality. We need to overcome this by making concrete gestures of reconciliation with our brothers, asking for the forgiveness of our faults. It is not easy to reconcile. We always think: who should take the first step?. The Lord helps us in this, if we have good will. Conversion, in fact, is complete if it leads to humbly recognizing our mistakes, our infidelities, and our non-compliances.
The believer is the one who, through his being close to his brother - as John the Baptist opened roads in the desert - points out prospects of hope even in those impervious existential contexts that are marked by failure and defeat. We can not give in to negative situations of closure and rejection; we must not allow ourselves to be subjected to the mentality of the world, because the centre of our life is Jesus and his word speaks of light, love, and consolation. And He! The Baptist invited the people of his time to conversion with strength, vigour, and severity. Yet he knew how to listen, he knew how to perform gestures of tenderness, gestures of forgiveness towards the multitude of men and women who came to him to confess their sins and to be baptized with the baptism of penitence.
The testimony of John the Baptist helps us to move forward in our testimony of life. The purity of his proclamation, his courage in proclaiming the truth, succeeded in reawakening the expectations and hopes of the Messiah that had long been dormant. Even today, the disciples of Jesus are called to be his humble but courageous witnesses to rekindle hope, to help others understand that, despite everything, the kingdom of God continues to be built day by day with the power of the Holy Spirit. Each of us can think: how can I change something about my attitude, in order to prepare the way for the Lord?
May the Virgin Mary help us to prepare the way of the Lord day after day, beginning with ourselves; and to spread seeds of peace, justice and fraternity around us with tenacious patience.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I affectionately greet all of you, pilgrims from Rome, Italy and other parts of the world.
In particular, I greet the many young people from the Dioceses of Orvieto-Todi. Thank you, I wish you a fruitful Advent!
I greet the faithful from Trapani, Caltagirone and Bronte, and the recently-confirmed young people from the Oratory of Almè (Bergamo).
I extend a cordial wish to all of you, that you have a good Sunday. And please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Greetings of His Holiness, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Last Sunday, the liturgy introduced us to the season of Advent and to waiting for the Lord with an attitude of vigilance and prayer: stay awake and pray. Today, on the second Sunday of Advent, we see how we can give substance to this expectation: how we can make this expectation concrete. As a guide for this journey, the Gospel presents the figure of John the Baptist, who traveled throughout the Jordan region, preaching a baptism of conversion for the forgiveness of sins (Lk 3:3). To describe the mission of the Baptist, the evangelist Luke refers to the ancient prophecy of Isaiah, which says: "A voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight! Every valley will be raised, every mountain and every hill will be made low (Lk 3:4-5).
To prepare the way for the Lord who is coming, it is necessary to take into account the demands of conversion to which the Baptist invites us. What are these needs for conversion? First of all we are called to reclaim the depressions produced by coldness and indifference, opening ourselves to others with the same sentiments of Jesus, that is, with that cordiality and fraternal attention that takes responsibility for the needs of our neighbour. Reclaim the depressions produced by coldness. You cannot have a relationship of love, charity, or fraternity with others if there are holes, as you can not set out on a road with many holes. This requires changing attitudes. And all this, we can and should do with special care for those who are most in need. Then we need to lower so much harshness caused by pride. How many people, perhaps without realizing it, are superb, harsh, or do not have that relationship of cordiality. We need to overcome this by making concrete gestures of reconciliation with our brothers, asking for the forgiveness of our faults. It is not easy to reconcile. We always think: who should take the first step?. The Lord helps us in this, if we have good will. Conversion, in fact, is complete if it leads to humbly recognizing our mistakes, our infidelities, and our non-compliances.
The believer is the one who, through his being close to his brother - as John the Baptist opened roads in the desert - points out prospects of hope even in those impervious existential contexts that are marked by failure and defeat. We can not give in to negative situations of closure and rejection; we must not allow ourselves to be subjected to the mentality of the world, because the centre of our life is Jesus and his word speaks of light, love, and consolation. And He! The Baptist invited the people of his time to conversion with strength, vigour, and severity. Yet he knew how to listen, he knew how to perform gestures of tenderness, gestures of forgiveness towards the multitude of men and women who came to him to confess their sins and to be baptized with the baptism of penitence.
The testimony of John the Baptist helps us to move forward in our testimony of life. The purity of his proclamation, his courage in proclaiming the truth, succeeded in reawakening the expectations and hopes of the Messiah that had long been dormant. Even today, the disciples of Jesus are called to be his humble but courageous witnesses to rekindle hope, to help others understand that, despite everything, the kingdom of God continues to be built day by day with the power of the Holy Spirit. Each of us can think: how can I change something about my attitude, in order to prepare the way for the Lord?
May the Virgin Mary help us to prepare the way of the Lord day after day, beginning with ourselves; and to spread seeds of peace, justice and fraternity around us with tenacious patience.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I affectionately greet all of you, pilgrims from Rome, Italy and other parts of the world.
In particular, I greet the many young people from the Dioceses of Orvieto-Todi. Thank you, I wish you a fruitful Advent!
I greet the faithful from Trapani, Caltagirone and Bronte, and the recently-confirmed young people from the Oratory of Almè (Bergamo).
I extend a cordial wish to all of you, that you have a good Sunday. And please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
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