Funviralpark Pope Francis presides over the Mass on the solemn night of the Nativity of the Lord and ponders the proximity, poverty and concreteness of the manger in which Mary laid the infant Christ.
Devin Watkins
“If you feel overwhelmed by events, if you are devoured by guilt and helplessness, if you are hungry for justice, I, your God, am with you. is.”
As the church celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, Pope Francis presided over Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday night, providing Christians around the world with that assurance.
in his sermonPope Francis said the Gospel of the Birth of Jesus aims to “lead us where God wants us to go” even when we are preoccupied with consumerist goals. I said there is.
He focused on the importance of Luke the Evangelist placing the Son in the manger in which Mary lay, and pointed out that his Gospel repeats the term three times in just a few verses (Lk 2).
In the small details of the manger, the Evangelist, he said, is trying to show us the “closeness, poverty, concreteness” of God in His Son Jesus.
Pope Francis at Mass
The Intimacy of the “Manger of Rejection”
Pope Francis said the manger could symbolize mankind’s “greed for consumption”.
“While animals are feeding in stalls, the men and women of our world are hungry for wealth and power, eating up their neighbors and even their brothers and sisters,” he said.
He lamented the pervasiveness of war and injustice and their negative impact on human dignity and liberty, especially that of children.
However, the Pope said that the Son of God was first placed precisely in that “manger of rejection and rejection”, allowing God to exist even in the worst conditions of human existence.
Confidence that God is Near
The Pope added that God is a Father who, rather than devouring his children, “feeds us with His tender love” and approaches us humbly.
He said each of us can remember that God is with us in our suffering and loneliness.
He said, “There is no evil or sin that Jesus does not want to save us. And He can. Christmas means God is near us: May confidence be reborn!”
Pope Francis at Mass
True Abundance Found in Jesus’ Poverty
Pope Francis next turned to the message of “poverty” expressed in a manger surrounded by little but love.
“The poverty of the manger shows us where the true riches of life lie: not in money and power, but in relationships and relationships.”
The Pope said that Jesus is the greatest wealth we can achieve, especially when we learn to love and serve His poverty among the poor of the world.
God concretely accepts harsh human existence
Finally, the Pope noted the “concreteness” shown to Jesus lying in the manger.
“The child lying in the manger presents us with a scene that is striking and even crude,” he said.
Pope Francis said that in every moment of his life, Jesus’ love for us was “always palpable and tangible” because he accepted “the grain of wood and the severity of our existence”. rice field.
When Jesus lies in the manger, he is “enveloped in tenderness by Mary”, showing his desire to clothe himself with love for those in greatest need around us.
night mass
Jesus gives flesh and life to our faith
Pope Francis also called on everyone to celebrate Christmas by doing something good for others so that “new hope is born to those who feel hopeless”. .
“Jesus, I see you lying in the manger,” he prayed at the end. “We see you as close, always by our side: thank the Lord!we see you as poorto teach us that true wealth lies in people, not in things, and above all in the poor, forgive us if we fail to acknowledge and serve them to You. we see you as concrete, because your love for us is palpable. Help us to give flesh and life to our faith. “
