Pope Francis Urbi et Orbi: 'my
Christmas wish is fraternity"
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| Pope Francis delivers the Christmas Urbi et Orbi blessing.(Vatican Media) |
Fraternity is Pope Francis’ wish for the world expressed in
his Urbi et Orbi address on Christmas Day as he invites everyone to fall on
their knees and worship.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
Pope Francis’ revealed his “wish for a happy Christmas” as
a “wish for fraternity” during his Christmas Urbi et Orbi message. To those
physically present in St Peter’s Square and to all joining through the media,
the Pope renewed the angel’s song: “Glory to God in the highest”… and invited
all to “halt in wonder” as the shepherds did and to silently “fall to our knees
and worship”. (Photo gallery included.)
God is a good Father
The Christmas message is all about a child who came to tell
us that “God is a good Father and we are all brothers
and sisters”, Pope Francis said. Without Jesus’ gift of fraternity, what we
do to build a more just world would be “soulless and empty”, he said. “For this
reason, my wish for a happy Christmas is a wish for fraternity”.
Fraternity
Pope Francis said he wishes for fraternity among
individuals, regardless of nation, culture, ideology, or religion. Jesus
revealed “God’s face” through a “human face”. The variety and differences we
experience “are a source of richness”, the Pope said, like the variety of
coloured tiles in the hands of a mosaic artist. God, who is our “parent”, binds
us together and is the “foundation and strength of our fraternity”.
Specific thoughts
For the Israelies and Palestinians, the Pope
wishes resumption of the dialogue and path to peace to end the 70-year conflict
rending “the land chosen by the Lord to show his face of love”.
For Syrians he wishes that they can “find
fraternity after long years of war” and that through international cooperation
those who have fled may return home.
For Yemen, the hope that the truce will hold and
bring relief to her people and children “exhausted by war and famine”.
For Africa, that the “Holy Child, the King of
Peace” might “silence the clash of arms” allowing a “new dawn of fraternity to
rise over the entire continent”.
For the Korean peninsula he prayed for the
consolidation of the “bonds of fraternity” set in motion this year.
For Venezuelans the Pope hopes they might
“recover social harmony” so as to “work fraternally” toward the country’s development.
For Ukrainians, he hopes “the Newborn Lord”
might “bring relief” and “a lasting peace” which is possible only through
respect for the “rights of every nation”.
For Nicaraguans he prayed that they might
“see themselves once more as brothers and sisters” through reconciliation and
building Nicaragua’s future together.
Pope Francis also mentioned those whose “freedom and
identity” are compromised through modern forms of colonialization, those
suffering from hunger, lack of education and health care.
For those celebrating Christmas in hostile situations, Pope
Francis prayed that all minorities might live peacefully through respect for
the right of religious freedom.
God loves us
In conclusion, Pope Francis prayed that the Child in the
manger might “watch over all the children of the world, and every
frail, vulnerable and discarded person”. He hopes that all might receive “peace
and consolation” as through “the birth of the Saviour” we know that “we are
loved by the one heavenly Father”, that we might realize “that we are
brothers and sisters and come to live as such”.
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