Leave behind personal securities to follow God more closely, pope says

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – A disciple of Jesus leaves behind worldly attachments and prejudices to follow God completely, Pope Francis said.

Disciples “know how to question themselves, how to humbly seek God every day,” the pope said Feb. 13 during his Sunday Angelus address.

With a crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the midday Angelus prayer, the pope reflected on the Sunday Gospel reading from St. Luke in which Jesus delivers the sermon on the plain, which, like St. Matthew’s sermon on the mount, begins with the beatitudes.

Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Feb. 13, 2022. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

“Indeed, the beatitudes define the identity of the disciple of Jesus,” Pope Francis said.

The beatitudes may sound strange, “almost incomprehensible to those who are not disciples,” he said.

According to the logic of the world, “happy are those who are rich,” who receive praise, are envied and feel secure, he said; but the beatitudes say that those who are poor and lack material possessions are blessed and happy.

Jesus “declares worldly success to be a failure, since it is based on a selfishness that inflates and then leaves the heart empty,” he said.

“Faced with the paradox of the beatitudes, disciples allow themselves to be challenged, aware that it is not God who must enter into our logic, but we into his,” the pope said.

“This requires a journey, sometimes wearisome, but always accompanied by joy. Because the disciple of Jesus is joyful, with the joy that comes from Jesus,” from the Lord who frees “us from the slavery of self-centeredness, breaks our locks, dissolves our hardness.”

Disciples, he said, “are those who let themselves be led by Jesus, who open their heart to Jesus, who listen to him and follow his path.”

Amen y custodien a la iglesia aun con sus incoherencias

Por Junno Arocho Esteves

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) — El mismo amor que le dio a San José, la fuerza para proteger a Jesús y María debe inspirar a los cristianos a amar a la iglesia, especialmente cuando denuncian sus pecados y defectos, dijo el papa Francisco.

El amor “nos hace capaces de decir plenamente la verdad, de forma no parcial; de decir lo que está mal, pero también de reconocer todo el bien y la santidad que están presentes”, dijo el papa el 16 de febrero durante su audiencia general semanal.

“Hoy es común, es de todos los días criticar a la Iglesia, subrayar las incoherencias —hay muchas—, subrayar los pecados, que en realidad son nuestras incoherencias, nuestros pecados, porque desde siempre la Iglesia es un pueblo de pecadores que encuentran la misericordia de Dios”, dijo el papa. “Preguntémonos si, en el fondo del corazón, nosotros amamos a la Iglesia así como es”.

Reflexionando sobre San José como patrono de la iglesia universal, el papa dijo que estaba concluyendo su serie de charlas de audiencia sobre el padre adoptivo de Jesús.

Sofia, Bulgaria – 6 May, 2019: Pope Francis leaves an event greeting from inside of his car.

Las historias del Evangelio que involucran a San José dicen que lleva a Jesús y María con él y obedece los mandatos de Dios, destacando así su papel como su protector, dijo el papa.

Agregó que “un aspecto muy hermoso de la vocación cristiana” es proteger la vida y “proteger el desarrollo humano”.

“El cristiano es, podemos decir, como San José: él o ella debe custodiar”, dijo. “Ser cristiano no es solo recibir la fe, confesar la fe, sino custodiar la vida, la propia vida, la vida de los otros, la vida de la iglesia”.

Los cristianos, continuó, “también nosotros debemos preguntarnos siempre si estamos protegiendo con todas nuestras fuerzas a Jesús y María, que están misteriosamente confiados a nuestra responsabilidad, a nuestro cuidado, a nuestra custodia”.

“José, a la vez que continúa protegiendo a la iglesia, sigue amparando al Niño y a su madre, y nosotros también, amando a la iglesia, continuamos amando al Niño y a su madre”, dijo.

Amar a la iglesia, agregó, significa proteger y caminar con todos sus miembros.

“La iglesia no es ese grupito que está cerca del sacerdote y manda a todos, no. La Iglesia somos todos, todos. En camino”, dijo. “Es una bonita pregunta, esta: yo, cuando tengo un problema con alguien, ¿trato de custodiarlo o lo condeno enseguida, hablo mal de él, lo destruyo? ¡Debemos custodiar, siempre custodiar!”

El papa Francisco animó a los cristianos a pedir por la intercesión de San José, especialmente en “precisamente en los momentos más difíciles de vuestras vidas y de vuestras comunidades”.

“Allí donde nuestros errores se convierten en escándalo, pidamos a san José la valentía de enfrentar la verdad, de pedir perdón y empezar de nuevo humildemente. Allí donde la persecución impide que el Evangelio sea anunciado, pidamos a san José la fuerza y la paciencia de saber soportar abusos y sufrimientos por amor al Evangelio”, dijo el papa.

La intercesión de San José, añadió, es también fuente de consuelo para los pobres y los que sufren y de aliento para los “que sirven a los más pequeños, a los indefensos, a los huérfanos, a los enfermos, a los rechazados de la sociedad”.

“¡Cuántos santos se han vuelto a él! ¡Cuántas personas en la historia de la iglesia han encontrado en él un patrón, un guardián, un padre!” dijo el papa.

Be moved by Spirit, not ‘mechanical repetition,’ pope says

By Junno Arocho
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Holy Spirit, and not the need for recognition, must be the primary motivation in one’s religious life, Pope Francis told consecrated men and women.

“Sometimes, even behind the appearance of good works, the canker of narcissism, or the need to stand out, can be concealed. In other cases, even as we go about doing many things, our religious communities can appear moved more by mechanical repetition – acting out of habit, just to keep busy – than by enthusiastic openness to the Holy Spirit,” the pope said in his homily Feb. 2.

“Let us today examine our interior motivations and discern our spiritual movements, so that the renewal of consecrated life may come about, first and foremost, from there,” he said.

Hundreds of men and women belonging to religious orders attended the Mass for the celebration of Candlemas – the feast of the Presentation of the Lord – which also marks the Vatican celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life.

During the Mass, Pope Francis exchanged consecrated bread and wine with Armenian Catholic Patriarch Raphaël Pierre XXI Minassian, who was elected in September, thus sealing their ecclesial communion.

In September, after the election, the pope granted the Armenian patriarch’s request for unity, which is sealed with the gesture of partaking of the Eucharist together. The Armenian Patriarchate, based in Beirut, is one of 22 Eastern Catholic Churches that is in full unity with the Holy See and the Catholic Church.

The Mass began with the traditional blessing of candles. Led by several candle-bearing acolytes, Pope Francis processed toward the Altar of the Chair in a darkened St. Peter’s Basilica, faintly lit by the congregation’s candles as the choir sang, “O radiant light, eternal splendor of the father, Christ the Lord immortal.”

Pope Francis blessed the candles and prayed that the Lord would guide all men and women “on the path of good” toward his Son, “the light that has no end.”

Pope Francis holds a candle as he celebrates Mass marking the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Feb. 2, 2022. The Mass also marked the Vatican celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life. (CNS photo/Remo Casilli, Reuters)

In his homily, the pope reflected on the Gospel reading from St. Luke, in which the young Mary and Joseph, along with baby Jesus, meet the elderly Simeon and Anna, who “await in the Temple the fulfilment of the promise that God made to his people: the coming of the Messiah.”

Just like the elderly Simeon recognizes the Messiah “in the guise of a poor little baby,” religious men and women are called to be “moved by the Spirit” rather than success or prestige in their congregations.

“The spirit moves us to see God in the littleness and vulnerability of a baby, yet we at times risk seeing our consecration only in terms of results, goals and success: We look for influence, for visibility, for numbers,” the pope said. “The Spirit, on the other hand, asks for none of this. He wants us to cultivate daily fidelity and to be attentive to the little things entrusted to our care.”

Secondly, Simeon’s example of seeing and recognizing Christ is a testament to the “great miracle of faith” that “opens eyes, transforms gazes and changes perspectives.”

“Let us open our eyes: The spirit is inviting us amid our crises, decreasing numbers and diminishing forces, to renew our lives and our communities. Let us look at Simeon and Anna: Although they were advanced in years, they did not spend their days mourning a past that never comes back, but instead embraced the future opening up before them,” he said.

Con Dios, se puede vivir con confianza y optimismo, dice el papa

Por Carol Glatz

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) — Jesús quiere que las personas lo inviten a sus vidas, sin importar cuán pobres, inadecuadas o vergonzosas sean sus vidas, dijo el papa Francisco.

“A veces nos sentimos indignos de Él porque somos pecadores. Pero esta es una excusa que no le gusta al Señor, porque lo aleja de nosotros”, dijo el papa el 6 de febrero durante su discurso del Ángelus del domingo. “Él es el Dios de la cercanía, de la compasión, de la ternura, y no busca el perfeccionismo, busca la acogida”.

El papa se dirigió a la multitud reunida en la Plaza de San Pedro para la oración del Ángelus del mediodía y reflexionó sobre la lectura del Evangelio dominical de San Lucas en la que Jesús invita a Simón Pedro a intentar pescar nuevamente después de no pescar nada en toda la noche.

(Photo by BigStock – Sofia, Bulgaria – 6 May, 2019)

El papa Francisco dijo que la vida cotidiana se puede comparar con el trabajo diario de los pescadores, ya que “cada día la barca de nuestra vida abandona la orilla de nuestro hogar para adentrarse en el mar de las actividades cotidianas; cada día intentamos ‘pescar mar adentro’, cultivar sueños, llevar adelante proyectos, vivir el amor en nuestras relaciones”.

“Pero a menudo, como Pedro, experimentamos la ‘noche de las redes vacías’, la noche de las redes vacías… la decepción de esforzarse tanto y no ver los resultados deseados”, dijo.

“Cuántas veces también nosotros nos quedamos con una sensación de derrota, mientras la decepción y la amargura surgen en nuestros corazones. Dos carcomas muy peligrosas”, dijo.

Es precisamente cuando la “barca” de uno está vacía, “cuando no tenemos nada que ofrecerle”, que hay espacio para que Jesús entre “en nuestros vacíos” y los llene con su presencia, dijo el papa.

“Dios no quiere un crucero”, dijo el papa”, dijo. “le basta con una pobre barca ‘destartalada’, siempre que lo acojamos”.

Con el Señor, las personas pueden “navegar en el mar de la vida sin miedo, sin dejarse llevar por la desilusión cuando no pescamos nada y sin rendirnos”, dijo.

Ya sea en la vida personal, en la vida de la iglesia o de la sociedad, siempre hay “algo hermoso y valiente que se puede hacer, siempre”, dijo el papa. “Siempre podemos empezar de nuevo, el Señor siempre nos invita a volver a ponernos de pie porque abre nuevas posibilidades”.

“¡Ahuyentemos el pesimismo y la desconfianza y entremos mar adentro con Jesús!. Incluso nuestra pequeña barca vacía será testigo de una pesca milagrosa”, agregó.

People’s mistakes and sins do not frighten God, pope says

By Carol Glatz
ROME (CNS) – God is not frightened by people’s sins, mistakes or failures, Pope Francis said.

What God is afraid of is “the closure of our hearts – this, yes, this makes him suffer – he is frightened by our lack of faith in his love,” the pope said Jan. 19 during his weekly general audience.

Everybody must “square accounts” with what they have done, but “settling the accounts with God is a beautiful thing because we start talking and he embraces us” with tenderness, the pope said.

Pope Francis meets a group of nuns during his general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican Jan. 19, 2022. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Pope Francis continued his series of audience talks about St. Joseph, reflecting on his tenderness.

Very little detail is found in the Gospels about St. Joseph’s fatherly approach, but “we can be sure that his being a ‘just’ man also translated into the education he gave to Jesus,” the pope said.

Jesus understood God’s tenderness and love, experiencing it first through St. Joseph, he said. “The things of God always come to us through the mediation of human experiences.”
“There is great tenderness in the experience of God’s love, and it is beautiful to think that the first person to transmit this reality to Jesus was Joseph himself,” he said.

In fact, Jesus always used the word “father” to speak of God and his love, he said. The most memorable account of God’s mercy is Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, who expected punishment for his sins, but instead “he finds himself wrapped in his father’s embrace.”

“Tenderness is something greater than the logic of the world. It is an unexpected way of doing justice,” Pope Francis said.

“That is why we must never forget that God is not frightened by our sins,” he said, because God “is greater than our sins: he is the father, he is love, he is tender.”

Tenderness is “the experience of feeling loved and welcomed precisely in our poverty and misery, and thus transformed by God’s love,” the pope said.

“The Lord does not take away all our weaknesses, but helps us to walk on with our weaknesses, taking us by the hand” and walking by people’s side, he said.

“The experience of tenderness consists in seeing God’s power pass through precisely that which makes us most fragile; on the condition, however, that we are converted from the gaze of the Evil One who ‘makes us see and condemn our frailty,’ while the Holy Spirit ‘brings it to light with tender love,’” the pope said, quoting from his apostolic letter on St. Joseph, “Patris corde.”

If the devil ever speaks the truth to people, it is because he is twisting it “to tell us a lie” and to “condemn us,” the pope said. “Instead, the Lord tells us the truth and reaches out his hand to save us. We know that God’s truth does not condemn, but instead welcomes, embraces, sustains and forgives us.”

The world needs this “revolution of tenderness” and, without it, “we risk remaining imprisoned in a justice that does not allow us to rise easily and that confuses redemption with punishment,” he added.

With this in mind, the pope highlighted what people in prison need most.

“It is right that those who have done wrong should pay for their mistake, but it is equally right that those who have done wrong should be able to redeem themselves from their mistake. There cannot be sentences without a window of hope,” he said, which, in past speeches, he has explained would be sentences of life in prison or the death penalty.

“Let us think of our brothers and sisters in prison, and think of God’s tenderness for them, and let us pray for them, so they might find in that window of hope a way out toward a better life.”

Los errores y pecados de las personas no asustan a Dios

Por Carol Glatz

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) — Dios no se asusta por los pecados, errores, o fracasos de las personas, expresó el papa Francisco.

Lo que Dios teme es que “cerremos nuestros corazones — esto, sí, esto lo hace sufrir — está asustado por nuestra falta de fe en su amor”, manifestó el papa durante su audiencia general semanal el 19 de enero.

Cada uno debe “ajustar cuentas” con lo que ha hecho, pero “arreglar cuentas con Dios es algo hermoso porque nos ponemos a hablar y él nos abraza” con ternura, dijo el Santo Padre.

El papa Francisco continuaba su serie de charlas de audiencia sobre San José, reflexionando sobre su ternura.

En los Evangelios, se encuentran muy pocos detalles sobre el enfoque paternal de San José, pero “podemos estar seguros de que ser un hombre ‘justo’ también se tradujo en la educación que le dio a Jesús”, indicó el papa.

Jesús entendió la ternura y el amor de Dios, experimentándolo primero a través de San José, acotó. “Las cosas de Dios siempre nos llegan por medio de las experiencias humanas”.

“Hay una gran ternura en la experiencia del amor de Dios, y es hermoso pensar que el primero en transmitir esta realidad a Jesús fue el mismo José”, dijo.

De hecho, Jesús siempre usó la palabra “padre” para hablar de Dios y de su amor, dijo. El relato más memorable de la misericordia de Dios es la parábola que Jesús contó del hijo pródigo, quien esperaba ser castigado por sus pecados, pero en cambio “se encuentra envuelto en el abrazo de su padre”.

“La ternura es algo más grande que la lógica del mundo. Es una forma inesperada de hacer justicia”, expresó el Sumo Pontífice.

“Por eso nunca debemos olvidar que Dios no se asusta de nuestros pecados”, dijo, porque Dios “es superior a nuestros pecados: es el padre, es amor, es tierno”.

La ternura es “la experiencia de sentirse amado y acogido precisamente en nuestra pobreza y miseria, y aun así transformados por el amor de Dios”, dijo el papa.

“El Señor no nos quita todas nuestras debilidades, sino que nos ayuda a caminar con nuestras debilidades, tomándonos de la mano” y caminando al lado de la gente, indicó.

“La experiencia de la ternura consiste en ver pasar el poder de Dios precisamente por aquello que nos hace más frágiles; siempre y cuando nos convirtamos de la mirada del Maligno, que nos hace ver nuestra fragilidad con un juicio negativo, mientras que el Espíritu Santo ‘la saca a la luz con ternura”, señaló el papa, citando su carta apostólica sobre San José, “Patris corde”.

Si el diablo alguna vez le dice la verdad a la gente, es porque la está torciendo “para decirnos una mentira” y para “condenarnos”, expresó el Santo Padre. “En cambio, el Señor nos dice la verdad y extiende su mano para salvarnos. Sabemos que la verdad de Dios no condena, sino que acoge, abraza, sostiene, y perdona”.

El mundo necesita esta “revolución de ternura” y, sin ella, “corremos el riesgo de quedar presos en una justicia que no nos permite levantarnos con facilidad y que confunde redención con castigo”, añadió.

Con esto en mente, el papa destacó lo que más necesitan las personas en prisión.

“Es justo que el que ha hecho mal pague por su error, pero es igualmente justo que el que ha hecho mal pueda redimirse de su error. No puede haber sentencias sin una ventana de esperanza”, dijo, que, en discursos pasados, ha explicado serían sentencias de cadena perpetua o pena de muerte.

“Pensemos en nuestros hermanos y hermanas en la cárcel, y pensemos en la ternura de Dios por ellos, y oremos por ellos, para que encuentren en esa ventana de esperanza una salida hacia una vida mejor”.

Preserve Christian identity received at baptism, pope says

By Junno Arocho
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Before baptizing 16 babies in the Sistine Chapel, Pope Francis reminded parents and godparents of their responsibility to care for and preserve the Christian identity the infants were about to receive.
“This is your task throughout your lives: to guard the Christian identity of your children,” the pope said. “It is a daily commitment: help them grow with the light they receive today.”

The pope baptized the seven boys and nine girls – the children of Vatican employees – in the Sistine Chapel during the celebration of Mass Jan. 9, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

The annual tradition of baptizing infants on the feast day, which began in 1981 by St. John Paul II, was canceled last year due to the pandemic.

Pope Francis greets family members of a newly baptized baby after celebrating Mass marking the feast of the Baptism of the Lord in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican Jan. 9, 2022. The pope baptized 16 infants. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Although the baptisms resumed this year, the number of infants was significantly reduced. In January 2020, the pope had baptized 32 infants in the Sistine Chapel.

Delivering a brief, off-the-cuff homily, Pope Francis recalled a hymn for the feast day that said the people of Israel went to the Jordan River to be baptized “with bare feet and bare souls.”

“These children today also come here with ‘bare souls’ to receive God’s justification, Jesus’ strength, the strength to move forward in life,” he said. “Your children will receive their Christian identity today. And you, parents and godparents, must guard this identity.”

With the sounds of fussy children filling the frescoed chapel, the pope repeated his usual advice to mothers of infants, encouraging them to make their children comfortable, and to not worry if they start to cry in the chapel.

“This ceremony is a bit long, the children then feel uncomfortable here in an environment they do not know. Please, they are the protagonists: make sure that they are not too hot, that they feel comfortable,” Pope Francis said.

“If they are hungry, breast feed them here, in front of the Lord, no problem,” he added. “And if they cry out, let them cry out, because they have a community spirit, let’s say a ‘band spirit,’ a spirit of ensemble, and all it takes is for one to start – because everyone is musical – and immediately the orchestra comes! Let them cry, let them feel free.”

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Negar la dignidad de trabajo es una injusticia, dice el papa

Por Junno Arocho Esteves

Catholic News Service

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (CNS) — El trabajo de San José como humilde carpintero sirve como un ejemplo de la dignidad del trabajo duro que hoy en día a menudo se le niega a los necesitados, dijo el papa Francisco.

“Muchos jóvenes, muchos padres y madres viven el calvario de no tener un trabajo que les permita vivir tranquilos, solo viven el día a día. Y cuántas veces la búsqueda de trabajo se vuelve tan desesperada que los lleva al punto de perder toda esperanza y deseo de vivir”, dijo el papa el 12 de enero durante su audiencia general semanal.

El valor del trabajo pesado también se explota en el mundo actual, agregó, donde muchas personas, incluidos los trabajadores indocumentados, se ven obligados a realizar tareas agotadoras por salarios injustos y los niños, “que deberían estar jugando”, en cambio, se ven “obligados a trabajar como un adultos.”

Sofia, Bulgaria – 6 May, 2019: (Photo by BigStock)

“Son nuestros hermanos y hermanas, los que se ganan la vida así, con trabajos que no reconocen su dignidad. ¡Pensemos en esto, esto está pasando hoy en el mundo!” él dijo.

El papa Francisco continuaba su serie de charlas de audiencia sobre San José, reflexionando sobre su trabajo como carpintero.

El trabajo de un carpintero, o alguien que trabajaba la madera, en esos tiempos, explicó el papa, implicaba no solo fabricar herramientas o muebles, sino también construir casas. Desde el punto de vista económico, “no aseguraba grandes ganancias”.

El papa Francisco dijo que el hecho de que San José, al igual que Jesús, practicaran la carpintería le hacían pensar en “todos los trabajadores del mundo, especialmente a los que hacen trabajos arduos en las minas y fábricas”, así como a “los que son explotados a través del trabajo indocumentado” y las “víctimas del trabajo”, que se lesionan o mueren en el trabajo debido a condiciones de trabajo inseguras.

También llamó a los cristianos a recordar a aquellos que están sin trabajo y que regresan a casa todos los días, sin éxito en sus esfuerzos por “ganarse el pan”.

“Ganar el pan es lo que te da dignidad y si no le damos a nuestro pueblo, a nuestros hombres y mujeres, la capacidad de ganarse el pan, esto es una injusticia social en ese lugar, en esa nación, en ese continente”, dijo el papa. “Los líderes deben dar a todos la capacidad de ganarse el pan, porque ese ganarse les da dignidad”.

Partiendo de sus comentarios preparados, el papa pidió un momento de oración en silencio por aquellos que perdieron sus trabajos durante la pandemia y por aquellos que, “aplastados por una carga insoportable, llegaron al punto de quitarse la vida”.

“Me gustaría recordar a cada uno de ellos y sus familias hoy. Hagamos un momento de silencio, recordando a estos hombres, estas mujeres, que están desesperados porque no pueden encontrar trabajo”, dijo el papa antes de inclinar la cabeza en oración.

El papa Francisco invitó a las personas presentes a pensar qué pueden hacer “para recuperar el valor del trabajo” y qué puede hacer la Iglesia “para que el trabajo se redima de la lógica del mero lucro y se viva como un derecho y un deber fundamental de la persona, que expresa y aumenta su dignidad”.

Concluyó su intervención con una oración a San José recitada por San Pablo VI en 1969, pidiendo la intercesión del santo para “proteger a los trabajadores en su dura existencia diaria” y defenderlos “del desánimo”.

Christmas is time for sharing, not commercialism, pope says

By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The Christmas tree and Nativity crèche should evoke the joy and the peace of God’s love and not the selfish indulgence of consumerism and indifference, Pope Francis said.

Meeting Dec. 10 with delegations from Andalo in Italy’s Trentino-South Tyrol region and from Peru’s Huancavelica region – responsible, respectively, for the Christmas tree and the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square – the pope said the traditional Christmas symbols bring an atmosphere that is “rich in tenderness, sharing and family closeness.”

“Let us not live a fake, commercial Christmas! Let us allow ourselves to be enveloped by God’s closeness, by the Christmas atmosphere that art, music, songs and traditions bring to our heart,” he said.

The delegations were at the Vatican for the evening ceremony to light the Vatican Christmas tree and unveil the Nativity scene. However, the Vatican announced earlier that due to less-than-favorable weather predictions for the evening, the traditional outdoor ceremony would be held inside the Paul VI hall.

Figures of Joseph and Mary are seen in the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square after a lighting ceremony at the Vatican Dec. 10, 2021. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

In the evening, despite the rain and cold temperatures, dozens gathered in St. Peter’s Square to witness the lighting of the Christmas tree. In the audience hall, the sounds of festive holiday music in Quechua played as videos of a children’s choir from Huancavelica were shown to commemorate the Andean-inspired crèche.

The Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square featured 30 statues depicting Mary, Joseph, the Three Kings, shepherds and various flora and fauna from Huancavelica. The figures were dressed in the traditional bright, multicolored garments of the region’s Indigenous Chopcca people.
During the meeting with Pope Francis, the two delegations were joined by a group of young men and women from a parish in Padua who created the Nativity scene displayed in the audience hall.

Expressing his gratitude to the delegations for their gifts, the pope said the traditional garments worn by the figures in the Nativity scene “represent the people of the Andes and symbolize the universal call to salvation.”

“Jesus came to the world through the concreteness of a people to save every man and woman, of all cultures and nationalities. He made himself small so that we might welcome him and receive the gift of God’s tenderness,” he said.

He also said the spruce tree was a “sign of Christ” and a reminder of God’s gift of uniting “himself with humankind forever.”

As Christmas festivities draw near, Pope Francis said the créche remains a symbol of hope that God “never tires of us” and that he chose to dwell among men and women “not as one who stands on high to dominate, but as the one who stoops low, small and poor, to serve.”

“For it to be truly Christmas, let us not forget this,” the pope said. “God comes to be with us and asks us to take care of our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest, the weakest and the most fragile, those whom the pandemic risks marginalizing even more.”

Advent during pandemic remains a season of compassion, pope says

By Carol Glatz
ROME (CNS) – With Advent coming during an ongoing pandemic, Christians are called to hold on to hope and foster a season of compassion and tenderness, Pope Francis said.

During Advent this year, too, “its lights will be dimmed by the consequences of the pandemic, which still weighs heavily on our time,” he said Nov. 22. “All the more reason why we are called to question ourselves and not to lose hope.”

“The feast of the birth of Christ is not out of tune with the trial we are going through because it is the quintessential feast of compassion, the feast of tenderness. Its beauty is humble and full of human warmth,” the pope said during an audience with organizers and participants in a Christmas music contest. The contest was proposed and promoted by the Pontifical Foundation Gravissimum Educationis and Don Bosco Valdocco Missions association, based in Turin.

The contest invited people between the ages of 16 and 35 to produce new songs inspired by Christmas and its values: life, love, peace and light, according to the initiative’s website, christmascontest.it/en/. Contestants were competing in three categories: lyrics, music and interpretation, and the best three pieces will be performed during the 2021 edition of the annual Christmas concert at the Vatican.

Pope Francis leaves after celebrating Mass for the feast of Christ the King in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Nov. 21, 2021. (CNS photo/Remo Casilli, Reuters)

The pope thanked the groups who came up with the idea for the contest, “which gives voice to the young, inviting them to create new songs inspired by Christmas and its values.”

“The beauty of Christmas shines through in the sharing of small gestures of genuine love. It is not alienating, it is not superficial, it is not evasive,” he said.

The beauty of Christmas “expands the heart, opening it up to gratuitousness – gratuitousness, a word artists understand well! – to the giving of self,” and it can also foster cultural, social and educational life and activities, he added.

Pope Francis quoted what St. Paul VI told artists during Advent in 1965: “This world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair.”

It must not be the false beauty “made of appearances and earthly riches, which are hollow and a generator of emptiness,” Pope Francis said. It must be the real beauty “of a God made flesh, the one of faces — the beauty of faces, the beauty of stories” and the beauty of “creatures that make up our common home.”

He thanked the young people, artists and other participants “for not forgetting to be custodians of this beauty that the nativity of the Lord makes shine in every daily gesture of love, sharing and service.