In our day, for many people, life���s meaning is found in possessing, in having an excess of material objects. At a certain point, Saint Joseph and Our Lady found it hard to receive all those gifts, especially Mary, who had to hold the baby. “God always loves us with a greater love than we have for ourselves. And she put the baby Jesus in his arms. It was just so natural for people to be gathered in such numbers enjoying the sun, the freedom and each other’s company. This same faith impels us to make space for a new social imagination, and not to be afraid of experiencing new forms of relationship, in which none have to feel that there is no room for them on this earth. SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD. This is one of those local practical steps available to us all as we prepare for the first assembly of the Plenary Council in October next year. Pope Francis General Audience 19.05.21 I cordially greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors. Saint Paul tells us: ���The grace of God has appeared���. There God, in the house of bread, is born in a manger. Pope Francis kisses a figurine of the baby Jesus as he celebrates Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 24, 2020. No matter how hard we try, we will not satisfy everyone and we won’t always get things right. On this night let us share the joy of the Gospel: God loves us, he so loves us that he gave us his Son to be our brother, to be light in our darkness. ���Do not be afraid! Moved by the joy of the gift, little Child of Bethlehem, we ask that your crying may shake us from our indifference and open our eyes to those who are suffering. Pope Francis with Baby Jesus statue Christmas Mass 2019 PHOTO: CNS Twelve children, aged 5-11, from Italy, Japan, Venezuela, Kenya, Uganda, the Philippines and Iraq brought flowers to the statue and, at the end of Mass, were to accompany the pope to the basilica’s Nativity scene. But to do this, Francis has decided that he needs to soft-pedal any public objection to Chinese human rights abuses. And it is the best way to change the world: we change, the Church changes, history changes, once we stop trying to change others but try to change ourselves and to make of our life a gift. ���Whoever hates his brother ��� writes the Apostle John ��� is in the darkness; he walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has blinded his eyes��� (1 Jn 2:11). But he did not mention the Rohingya by name. Today God reminds us of this. The Son of David was born among shepherds in order to tell us that never again will anyone be alone and abandoned; we have a Shepherd who conquers our every fear and loves us all, without exception. In Bethlehem, a small chink opens up for those who have lost their land, their country, their dreams; even for those overcome by the asphyxia produced by a life of isolation. Our life can be marked by waiting, which amid the gloom of our problems hopes in the Lord and yearns for his coming; then we will receive his life. This is not simply an emotional or sentimental matter. Everything, that night, became a source of hope. DAILY GOSPEL COMMENTARY: “RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT” (Jn 20:19���23). Dear brothers and sisters, what are we to do with this grace? Copyright 짤 Catholicsstrivingforholiness All rights reserved. Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark has no birth narrative of Jesus. That shepherd, in accepting him, became aware of having received what he did not deserve, of holding in his arms the greatest gift of all time. Mary and Joseph, for whom there was no room, are the first to embrace the One who comes to give all of us our document of citizenship. So the shepherds immediately set out: we are told that they ���went with haste��� (v. 16). His critics think not. And just as God called the shepherds, so too he calls us, for he loves us. They arrived in Bethlehem and experienced that it was a land that was not expecting them. Vatican Basilica Tuesady, 24 December 2019 “Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Is 9:1). Vatican City, Dec 24, 2020 / 01:00 pm MT (CNA).- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis said that the poverty of Christ’s birth in a stable contains an important lesson for today. His critics, especially those in the western media, said, “There you go. MIDNIGHT MASS. Be not afraid: these words were not spoken to saints but to shepherds, simple people who in those days were certainly not known for their refined manners and piety. Whereas on earth everything seems to be about giving in order to get, God comes down freely. Guido Marini, papal master of ceremonies. Remember, you can’t do everything. Bethlehem is the turning point that alters the course of history. Christmas 2020 is incredibly special. The Lord loves to be awaited, and we cannot await him lying on a couch, sleeping. And yet, such gatherings would still be folly in other parts of the world where the virus is running rampant. In Scripture, the original sin of humanity is associated precisely with taking food: our first parents ���took of the fruit and ate���, says the Book of Genesis (cf. HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS St Peter’s Basilica Solemnity of Pentecost – Sunday, 23 May 2021 “When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father…” (Jn 15:26). They are not necessarily the official views of the Diocese of Parramatta. Because we, from the beginning, because of our sin, have been afraid of God; after sinning, Adam says: ���I was afraid and so I hid��� (Gen 3:10). At heart, they were full of hope and expectation because of the child about to be born; yet their steps were weighed down by the uncertainties and dangers that attend those who have to leave their home behind. Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent – Gaudete Sunday, Readings: Isaiah 61: 1-2, 10-11; Luke 1: 46-50, 53-54; 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24; John 1: 6-8, 19-28, Mass for Installation of Parish Pastoral Council at St Canice’s Parish, Kings Cross/Elizabeth Bay. WELCOME TO CATHOLICS STRIVING FOR HOLINESS! And after seeing Jesus, although they were not men of fine words, they go off to proclaim his birth, so that ���all who heard were amazed at what the shepherds told them��� (v. 18). The grace of God has appeared. December 26, 2020 At his installation in 2013, Pope Francis reflected on the role of St. Joseph as protector. Holy Mass celebrated for the Gendarmerie Corps of Vatican City State (26 September 2020) [ German - Italian - Portuguese - Spanish ] Holy Mass presided over by Pope Francis in the Casa Santa Marta chapel on the anniversary of his visit to Lampedusa in 2013 (8 July 2020) [ English - French - German - Italian - Portuguese - Spanish ] You, my Saviour, teach me to serve. Is it the Lord, or something else? Yet later the pope did find the time to discuss justice and inequality with an NBA players union delegation, which presented him with a Black Lives Matter T-shirt.”[4], When Pope Francis went to Myanmar three years ago, everyone was waiting to see how he would deal with the military leaders and what he would do or say about the Rohingya – the Muslim refugees who were being displaced across the border in their hundreds of thousands by the military. Because he is faithful,���God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all��� (1 Jn 1:5). Then it will be Christmas, when I can say to you: ���Lord you know everything; you know that I love you��� (cf. He is ever faithful to his covenant and to his promises. The same throne being used that was used during the Second Vatican Council. And holiness is nothing other than preserving this freedom. You love me as I am, not as I imagine myself to be. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google+. As we wait joyously and expectantly for Christmas, we take heart from those words of Isaiah in today’s first reading: “For as the earth brings forth its shoots. He openly wept. 짤 Copyright – Libreria Editrice Vaticanahttp://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20191224_omelia-natale.htmlEMPHASIS MINE. May your revolutionary tenderness persuade us to feel our call to be agents of the hope and tenderness of our people. Copyright 2021. He is present in the unwelcomed visitor, often unrecognizable, who walks through our cities and our neighbourhoods, who travels on our buses and knocks on our doors. Dear brother, dear sister, if your hands seem empty, if you think your heart is poor in love, this night is for you. In Bethlehem, we discover that God does not take life, but gives it. It is a bread that never grows stale, but enables us even now to have a foretaste of eternal life. The grace of God, ���bringing salvation to all��� (Tit 2:11), has shone on our world this night. Timing can be everything. In embracing you, the Child of the manger, I once more embrace my life. The pilrim is bound by duty to keep watch and the shepherds did just that. This history has always been accompanied by the Lord! The Good Shepherd, who at Christmas comes to give his life to the sheep, will later, at Easter, ask Peter and, through him all of us, the ultimate question: ���Do you love me?��� (Jn 21:15). The liturgical purple of fasting and penance is temporarily suspended. His love is non-negotiable: we did nothing to deserve it and we will never be able to repay it. (Credit: Pool Photo/AIGAV.) Lai’s godfather William McGurn is a prominent columnist for the Wall Street Journal. He is not simply a teacher of wisdom, he is not an ideal for which we strive while knowing that we are hopelessly distant from it. As the angels said to the shepherds: ���Do not be afraid!���. Christmas reminds us that God continues to love us all, even the worst of us. Their skin, their clothing, their smell, their way of speaking, their origin, all betrayed them. It is patient. He felt himself loved and, overcoming his embarrassment, began to show Jesus to the others, for he could not keep for himself the gift of gifts.

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