Pope at Angelus: 2020 a year to
cultivate hope and peace
 |
| Pope Francis prays the Angelus on New Year's Day (Vatican Media) |
At the Angelus prayer on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of
God, Pope Francis urges us to live the year 2020 in gratitude for the blessing
of God’s love in Jesus Christ. The Pope also apologizes for losing his patience
yesterday while greeting the faithful near the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s
Square.
By Devin Watkins
Pope Francis addressed the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s
Square on Wednesday, at the start of the new year.
“Last night we concluded the year 2019 by thanking God for
the gift of time and all its benefits,” he said. “Today we begin the year 2020
with the same attitude of gratitude and praise.”
Show us the Son
The Pope recalled the liturgical feast of Mary, the Mother
of God, which recurs on January 1st, saying she “blesses us by
showing us her Son.”
“She blesses the whole Church; she blesses the whole world.
Jesus, as the Angels sang in Bethlehem, is ‘joy for all people’. He is the
glory of God and peace for humanity.”
Pope Francis said Jesus, the Savior, is God’s blessing for
every man and woman, because He defeated evil at its root.
Apology for ‘bad example’
“His salvation is not magical, but it is a ‘patient’
salvation, that is, it involves the patience of love, which takes on wickedness
and removes its power. The patience of love: love makes us patient,” said the
Pope. “We often lose patience. So do I. And I apologize for yesterday's bad
example...”
The apology Pope Francis offered was in connection with a
moment from his visit to the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday
evening.
As he greeted the faithful, a woman tugged his arm, causing
a shooting pain to which the Pope reacted with an impatient gesture to free
himself from her grip.
God loves us always
The Pope said Jesus reminds us that God loves us, even when
we have lost our “self-esteem by remaining prisoners of vicious cycles”.
“To those who are victims of injustice and exploitation and
see no way out, Jesus opens the door of fraternity, where they can find
welcoming faces, hearts and hands, where they can share bitterness and despair,
and recover some dignity.”
Pope Francis said those who are seriously ill and feel abandoned
should remember that Jesus is close to them and tenderly touches their wounds,
turning weakness into “a force for good.”
“To those who are imprisoned and are tempted to close in on
themselves,” he said, “Jesus reopens a horizon of hope, starting with a small
glimmer of light.”
World Day of Peace
Pope Francis also recalled his message for the 53rd World Day of Peace,
celebrated on New Year’s Day.
“For the year 2020 the Message is this: ‘Peace as a journey
of hope’, a journey in which progress is made through dialogue, reconciliation
and ecological conversion.”
2020: journey of hope
In conclusion, Pope Francis invited us to “descend from the
pedestals of our pride and ask for the blessing of the Holy Mother of God” who
shows us that we are blessed in Jesus.
“Thus the year that begins will be a journey of hope and
peace, not through words, but through daily gestures of dialogue,
reconciliation and care for creation.”
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét