At noon today (6:00am EST), in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the promoters, organizers and artists who will perform at a Christmas Concert in the Vatican which will take place tomorrow - Saturday, 15 December - in the Paul VI Hall. The concert has been organized by the Congregation for Catholic Education. The proceeds raised from this concert will be donated to the Pontifical Scholas Occurrentes Foundation and the Don Bosco Salesian Mission Foundation.
Dear friends,
We are preparing for the celebration of Christmas. The birth of Jesus, two thousand years ago, took place in a precise cultural context. Today, Christmas is celebrated in all parts of the world and is manifested according to the most diverse customs and traditions, generating multiple representations, to which you also contribute with your talents and your passion.
Christmas is always new, because it invites us to be reborn in faith, to open ourselves to hope, to rekindle charity. This year, in particular, calls us to reflect on the situation of many men, women and children of our time - migrants and refugees - marching to escape wars, miseries caused by social injustice and climate change. To leave everything - home, relatives, homeland - and to face the unknown, they must have suffered very serious situations!
Jesus also came from another place. He dwelt in God the Father, with the Holy Spirit, in a communion of wisdom, light and love, which he wanted to bring us with his coming into the world. He came to dwell among us, in the midst of our limits and our sins, to give us the love of the Most Holy Trinity. And as a man he showed us the way of love, which is to say service, done with humility, in order to give life.
When the violent anger of Herod struck the territory of Bethlehem, the Holy Family of Nazareth experienced the anguish of persecution and, guided by God, they took refuge in Egypt. Little Jesus reminds us that half of today's refugees throughout the world are children, innocent victims of human injustice.
The Church responds to these dramas with many initiatives of solidarity and assistance, acts of hospitality. There is always much to do, there are so many suffering people to soothe and problems to be solved. We need greater coordination, more organized actions, in order to be able to embrace every person, group and community, according to the design of fraternity that unites us all. That's why you need to network.
Networking with education, first of all, to educate the little ones among migrants, that is, those who instead of sitting among the school desks, like many of their peers, spend their days undertaking long marches on foot, or on makeshift vehicles and in dangerous situations. They too need training to be able to work tomorrow and to participate as citizens, aware of the common good. And at the same time, it is a question of educating ourselves, learning how to welcome and to live in solidarity, to prevent migrants and refugees from encountering indifference or, worse, impatience on their path.
Networking with education means allowing people to get up on their feet, to get back on their feet with full dignity, with the strength and courage to face life, enhancing their talents and their hard work.
Networking with education is a valid solution to opening the gates of refugee camps, to allowing young migrants to enter new societies, encountering solidarity, generosity and promoting them in turn.
I thank you for the project undertaken by the Missionaries of Don Bosco in Uganda and that of Scholas Occurrentes in Iraq, because they have responded to this call to network with education, cooperating in the transmission of the message of hope for Christmas.
The Church's mission has always been manifested through the creativity and genius of the artists, because they, with their efforts, are able to reach the most intimate aspects of the conscience of men and women of every age. For this, to you here present, my graces and my encouragement are extended; go forward in your work, to light in every heart the warmth and tenderness of Christmas. Thank you and have a good concert!
(Original text in Italian)
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to artists who will perform at the
Vatican Christmas concert
Dear friends,
We are preparing for the celebration of Christmas. The birth of Jesus, two thousand years ago, took place in a precise cultural context. Today, Christmas is celebrated in all parts of the world and is manifested according to the most diverse customs and traditions, generating multiple representations, to which you also contribute with your talents and your passion.
Christmas is always new, because it invites us to be reborn in faith, to open ourselves to hope, to rekindle charity. This year, in particular, calls us to reflect on the situation of many men, women and children of our time - migrants and refugees - marching to escape wars, miseries caused by social injustice and climate change. To leave everything - home, relatives, homeland - and to face the unknown, they must have suffered very serious situations!
Jesus also came from another place. He dwelt in God the Father, with the Holy Spirit, in a communion of wisdom, light and love, which he wanted to bring us with his coming into the world. He came to dwell among us, in the midst of our limits and our sins, to give us the love of the Most Holy Trinity. And as a man he showed us the way of love, which is to say service, done with humility, in order to give life.
When the violent anger of Herod struck the territory of Bethlehem, the Holy Family of Nazareth experienced the anguish of persecution and, guided by God, they took refuge in Egypt. Little Jesus reminds us that half of today's refugees throughout the world are children, innocent victims of human injustice.
The Church responds to these dramas with many initiatives of solidarity and assistance, acts of hospitality. There is always much to do, there are so many suffering people to soothe and problems to be solved. We need greater coordination, more organized actions, in order to be able to embrace every person, group and community, according to the design of fraternity that unites us all. That's why you need to network.
Networking with education, first of all, to educate the little ones among migrants, that is, those who instead of sitting among the school desks, like many of their peers, spend their days undertaking long marches on foot, or on makeshift vehicles and in dangerous situations. They too need training to be able to work tomorrow and to participate as citizens, aware of the common good. And at the same time, it is a question of educating ourselves, learning how to welcome and to live in solidarity, to prevent migrants and refugees from encountering indifference or, worse, impatience on their path.
Networking with education means allowing people to get up on their feet, to get back on their feet with full dignity, with the strength and courage to face life, enhancing their talents and their hard work.
Networking with education is a valid solution to opening the gates of refugee camps, to allowing young migrants to enter new societies, encountering solidarity, generosity and promoting them in turn.
I thank you for the project undertaken by the Missionaries of Don Bosco in Uganda and that of Scholas Occurrentes in Iraq, because they have responded to this call to network with education, cooperating in the transmission of the message of hope for Christmas.
The Church's mission has always been manifested through the creativity and genius of the artists, because they, with their efforts, are able to reach the most intimate aspects of the conscience of men and women of every age. For this, to you here present, my graces and my encouragement are extended; go forward in your work, to light in every heart the warmth and tenderness of Christmas. Thank you and have a good concert!
(Original text in Italian)
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