POPE BENEDICT XVI'S URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE
"Truth has Sprung Up, Bringing Kindness,
Justice and Peace"
VATICAN CITY, December
26, 2012 (Zenit.org).
Here is the translation of the Holy Father's
traditional Urbi et Orbi message on Christmas Day.
* * *
"Veritas de
terra orta est!" – "Truth has sprung out of the earth"(Ps 85:12).
Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and
throughout the world, a happy Christmas to you and your families!
In this Year of Faith, I express my
Christmas greetings and good wishes in these words taken from one of the
Psalms: "Truth has sprung out of the earth". Actually, in the text of
the Psalm, these words are in the future: "Kindness and truth shall meet;
/ justice and peace shall kiss. / Truth shall spring out of the earth, /and
justice shall look down from heaven. / The Lord himself will give his benefits;
/ our land shall yield its increase. / Justice shall walk before him, / and salvation,
along the way of his steps" (Ps 85:11-14).
Today these prophetic words have been
fulfilled! In Jesus, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, kindness and truth
do indeed meet; justice and peace have kissed; truth has sprung out of the
earth and justice has looked down from heaven. Saint Augustine explains with
admirable brevity: "What is truth? The Son of God. What is the earth? The
flesh. Ask whence Christ has been born, and you will see that truth has sprung
out of the earth … truth has been born of the Virgin Mary" (En. in Ps. 84:13). And in a Christmas sermon he says that
"in this yearly feast we celebrate that day when the prophecy was
fulfilled: ‘truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down
from heaven’. The Truth, which is in the bosom of the Father has sprung out of
the earth, to be in the womb of a mother too. The Truth which rules the whole
world has sprung out of the earth, to be held in the arms of a woman ... The
Truth which heaven cannot contain has sprung out of the earth, to be laid in a
manger. For whose benefit did so lofty a God become so lowly? Certainly not for
his own, but for our great benefit, if we believe" (Sermones, 185, 1).
"If we believe". Here we see the
power of faith! God has done everything; he has done the impossible: he was
made flesh. His all-powerful love has accomplished something which surpasses
all human understanding: the Infinite has become a child, has entered the human
family. And yet, this same God cannot enter my heart unless I open the door to
him. Porta fidei! The door of faith! We
could be frightened by this, our inverse omnipotence. This human ability to be
closed to God can make us fearful. But see the reality which chases away this
gloomy thought, the hope that conquers fear: truth has sprung up! God is born! "The earth
has yielded its fruits" (Ps 67:7). Yes, there is a
good earth, a healthy earth, an earth freed of all selfishness and all lack of
openness. In this world there is a good soil which God has prepared, that he
might come to dwell among us. A dwelling place for his presence in the world.
This good earth exists, and today too, in 2012, from this earth truth has
sprung up! Consequently, there is hope in the world, a hope in which we can
trust, even at the most difficult times and in the most difficult situations.
Truth has sprung up, bringing kindness, justice and peace.
Yes, may peace spring up for the people of
Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict which does not spare even the
defenceless and reaps innocent victims. Once again I appeal for an end to the
bloodshed, easier access for the relief of refugees and the displaced, and
dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict.
May peace spring up in the Land where the
Redeemer was born, and may he grant Israelis and Palestinians courage to end to
long years of conflict and division, and to embark resolutely on the path of
negotiation.
In the countries of North Africa, which are
experiencing a major transition in pursuit of a new future – and especially the
beloved land of Egypt, blessed by the childhood of Jesus – may citizens work
together to build societies founded on justice and respect for the freedom and
dignity of every person.
May peace spring up on the vast continent of
Asia. May the Child Jesus look graciously on the many peoples who dwell in
those lands and, in a special way, upon all those who believe in him. May the
King of Peace turn his gaze to the new leaders of the People’s Republic of
China for the high task which awaits them. I express my hope that, in
fulfilling this task, they will esteem the contribution of the religions, in
respect for each, in such a way that they can help to build a fraternal society
for the benefit of that noble People and of the whole world.
May the Birth of Christ favour the return of
peace in Mali and that of concord in Nigeria, where savage acts of terrorism
continue to reap victims, particularly among Christians. May the Redeemer bring
help and comfort to the refugees from the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
and grant peace to Kenya, where brutal attacks have struck the civilian
population and places of worship.
May the Child Jesus bless the great numbers of
the faithful who celebrate him in Latin America. May he increase their human
and Christian virtues, sustain all those forced to leave behind their families
and their land, and confirm government leaders in their commitment to
development and fighting crime.
Dear brothers and sisters! Kindness and truth,
justice and peace have met; they have become incarnate in the child born of Mary in Bethlehem. That child is the
Son of God; he is God appearing in history. His birth is a flowering of new
life for all humanity. May every land become a good earth which receives and
brings forth kindness and truth, justice and peace. Happy Christmas to all of
you!
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