Pope at Angelus: Christmas means
accepting the gift of holiness
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| Pope Francis prays the Angelus (Vatican Media) |
At the Angelus prayer on the first Sunday of the year, Pope
Francis continued his reflections on Christmas, saying Jesus’ birth urges us to
become saints in love.
By Devin Watkins
In his address ahead of the traditional Marian prayer on the
second Sunday of the Christmas season, the Pope reflected on the meaning of
Jesus’ birth.
Though the Church in some countries celebrates Epiphany on
Sunday, 5 January – including in the United States – the Vatican and Italy mark
the holy day on its traditional date, 6 January.
Incarnation of the Word
The Pope said the Prologue to John’s Gospel show us that the
eternal Word – the Son of God – “became flesh”.
“Not only did He come to dwell among the people, but He
became one of the people, one of us!” he said.
Pope Francis said the Incarnation of the Word means that we
are now able to model our lives after a divine Person who took on our flesh,
rather than seeking to follow an abstract principle like the law or an
institution.
Making us children of God
The Pope went on to say that St Paul blesses God for His
plan of love realized in Jesus Christ.
“In this plan,” said Pope Francis, “each of us finds our
fundamental vocation: we are predestined to be children of God through Jesus
Christ. The Son of God became man to make us, men and women, sons of God.”
We contemplate our filial relationship with the Father in
the Nativity scene, said the Pope. And the day’s liturgy assures us, he
continued, that the Gospel of Christ is “the full revelation of God’s plan for
humanity”, and not some “fable, myth, or edifying story”.
To be holy in love
Pope Francis said we are faced with a question: “What
concrete project has the Lord placed in me, as He continues to make His birth
present among us?”
St Paul, he noted, gives us the answer to the meaning of
Christmas. “God has chosen us to be holy and without blemish before him in
charity.”
“If the Lord continues to come among us and to give us the
gift of His Word, it is so that each of us can respond to this call: to become
saints in love.”
For the good of our neighbor
Holiness, concluded Pope Francis, means “belonging to God,
communion with Him, and becoming a manifestation of His infinite goodness.”
“Whoever accepts holiness as a gift of grace,” he said,
“cannot fail to make it bear fruit in concrete action in daily life, in the
encounter with others.”
Acting in love, said the Pope, makes us “immaculate”, going
on to explain what he meant.
“Immaculate not in the sense that I remove a stain.
Immaculate in the sense that God enters into us. The gratuitous gift of God
enters into us, and we care for it and give it to others.”
And Pope Francis asked the Virgin Mary to “help us welcome
with joy and gratitude the divine plan of love realized in Jesus Christ.”
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