Pope’s catechesis: God’s gift of
Jesus at Christmas
During his General Audience of 27 Dec., Pope Francis urged
Christians to make Jesus the centre of all celebrations and gift themselves to
others, especially the marginalized.
By Robin Gomes
Pope Francis held his General Audience of Wednesday during
Christmas week, stressing that the celebration of the birth of Jesus is a sign
of our gratitude for the Father’s gift of Jesus and our desire to
share him with others.
Christmas distorted
Delivering his main catechesis in Italian in the Vatican’s
Paul VI audience hall, the Pope lamented that today, especially in Europe,
there is a distortion of Christmas, which in the name of a “false
respect”, sidelines faith and eliminates every reference to the birth
of Jesus. But the Pope stressed that without Jesus there is no
Christmas. The lights, sounds, various local traditions, including food, all go
to create the atmosphere of a true Christmas, only if Jesus is the
centre, the Pope said.
Light and darkness
Like the shepherds in the Gospel, the Pope said, we are led
to discover the light of Jesus, who was born of an unknown poor
girl in a stable, unknown to the world but over whom the angels exulted.
Today, the Pope said, the Son of God continues to present Himself to us as
God’s gift to humanity that prefers darkness and sleep, fearing
God’s light will unveil our actions and thoughts that will embarrass us and
prick our conscience.
Pope Francis explained that we can welcome God’s gift of
Jesus by making a free gift of ourselves to those we encounter. This, the
Pope stressed, is why we exchange gifts. With the incarnation of the Son,
he said, God has opened the way to new life, that is based not on
egoism but on love.
The marginalized
Pope Francis said that in this world that is ruled by the
powerful, those in the margins of society are the first beneficiaries of God’s
gift, which is, salvation brought by Jesus. Jesus establishes a friendship with
the small and despised, like the shepherds, that continues in time
and that nourishes the hope for a better future. With them, the Pope said,
God wants to build a new world where there is no one who is rejected,
maltreated and destitute. Pope Francis thus urged all to open their
hearts and be God’s gift to others, especially to the small and excluded who
have never experienced a caress, loving attention or tenderness.
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