Today’s general audience was rife with the sound of Italian
bagpipes and songs of Christmas, to which the pope dedicated his reflection shared with 8,000 joyous people who filled Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. The pope was greeted with considerable warmth from the moment he arrived. He made his way leisurely down the corridor between the barriers, stopping to greet people who reached out to him affectionately.
“Is mankind of our time still waiting for the Saviour?” asked the pope.
”One gets the feeling that many consider God to be outside their sphere of interest. Apparently they don’t need him; they live as if he did not exist and worse, as if he was an obstacle that must be removed before they could fulfill themselves.” And “even among believers, there are those who allow themselves to be drawn by alluring chimeras and to be distracted by misleading doctrines that suggest deluding shortcuts to happiness.” However, the path to follow is that of preparing ourselves to draw close to the grotto of Bethlehem in the same spirit that Mary and Joseph did, the grotto where a “prodigy” took place: the “creator of the universe came out of love and made his home among mankind”. “It is not hard to imagine how they spent the final days of their wait to hold the newborn child in their arms.” May their approach become ours, so that “born among us, he will not find us distracted or simply embellishing our homes with lights”. Rather let us prepare our hearts to welcome the “advent of Christ, the only redeemer of man and all mankind” in a worthy manner.The pope added at the end of the audience: “In a few days, it is Christmas and I imagine that final preparations for the crib are under way in your homes, that depiction of the Nativity that remains as striking as ever. I hope that such an important element, not only of our spirituality but also of our culture and art, will continue to be a simple and eloquent way of recalling he who came to ‘live among us’.”
"The Lord is at hand: come let us adore him!". In these last days of Advent, the liturgy invites us to draw close to the stable of Bethlehem contemplating in awe the birth of the Redeemer. Full of joy and thanksgiving we recall how the Creator of the universe, out of love,
came to dwell among us. For many centuries Israel had awaited the Messiah, imagining him as a powerful and victorious leader. Instead, the Saviour was born in absolute poverty, and the true light who enlightens all people was not accepted by his own (cf. Jn. 1:9-12).
Do we still await the Saviour? Today many consider God irrelevant; an obstacle to success. Even believers sometimes seek tempting but illusory shortcuts to happiness. And yet, perhaps even because of this confusion, humanity seeks a Saviour and awaits the coming of Christ, the one true Redeemer. We Christians, through our witness against those who offer a ‘cheap salvation’, defend the truth of Christmas which Christ brings to every person of goodwill.
Let us then with Mary and Joseph prepare to open our hearts to the Lord who is at hand. Do not be distracted by the trappings! Be watchful and pray! In this way our homes will welcome Jesus with faith and love.
I welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims here today. May these final days of Advent be full of spiritual wonder. To you and your loved ones, especially those who may be in difficulty or suffering, I extend my best wishes for a happy and holy Christmas!
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