This Sunday, Pope Francis celebrated the traditional midnight mass at St. Peter’s Basilica with the “heart” in Bethlehem, where he said that “the Prince of Peace is rejected by the losing logic of war, with the roar of weapons.”
“Tonight our hearts are with Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is still rejected by the losing logic of war, with the roar of weapons that even today prevents him from finding refuge in the world”the Pope said at the beginning of his homily, recalling the war in Gaza.
The pope’s remaining homily was devoted to the moment of Jesus’ birth, which took place at a time “of the census of the whole earth,” which Francis said “manifests on the one hand the all-too-human confluence that runs through history: that of a world that seeks power and strength, fame and glory, where everything is measured with successes and results, with numbers and figures”.
“It’s the obsession with benefit”the pope said, in front of the 6,500 people who filled the basilica, while several thousand also watched the mass on screens in the square.
Francisco assured that “There is a risk of experiencing Christmas with a pagan idea of God, as if he were a mighty master in heaven; a god associated with power, with worldly success and with the idolatry of consumerism”.
As in previous years, the traditional Midnight Mass was celebrated at 7:30 PM local time (6:30 PM in Lisbon) and Francisco, due to his mobility problems, remained seated next to the altar from where he delivered the homily.
During the homily, the Pope also declined “the false image of a distant and irritable god, who behaves well with the good and gets angry with the bad; of a god made in our image, useful only for solving problems and getting rid of evil”.
“On the other hand, he does not use the magic wand, he is not the commercial god of everything and now. He does not save us by pressing a button, but tries to change reality from within”he pointed out.
The Pope also lamented that among Catholics the “the mundane idea of a distant and controlling god, rigid and powerful, who helps his people impose themselves on others”.
He further stated that before God, “who changed history during the census, you are not a number, but a face; your name is written on your heart”.
And he added: “Tonight love changes history. Let us believe, O Lord, in the power of your love, so different from the power of the world”.
After the Angelus prayer this morning, Jorge Bergoglio will appear again on Monday on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the same where he was elected Pope in 2013, to read his Christmas message and promote the traditional blessing “Urbi et Orbi” . ” (to the city and the world).
Source: DN
