Pope Francis warned this Saturday of the existence of a humanity insatiable of money, power and pleasure that devours the weakest and causes wars, during the homily of the Missa do Galo celebrated in the Basilica of San Pedro.
Pope Francis celebrated the traditional Midnight Mass at 7:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. Lisbon time, like last year), but due to knee problems he remained seated to one side of the altar and Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re celebrated the Eucharist.
A deacon uncovered the image of the baby Jesus for the Pope, while children from different parts of the world laid flowers at his side and in Saint Peter’s Square the bells rang to announce the birth of Jesus.
In front of the seven thousand people who filled the Basilica, while another three thousand waited outside in the square, in an act broadcast by Mundovisión, he criticized that “after many Christmases celebrated with decorations and gifts, after so much consumerism that involved the mystery to commemorate (…) the meaning has been forgotten”.
The Pope read the homily seated and explained the three words that he said can inspire the nativity scene: “closeness, poverty and concreteness.”
Regarding proximity, the Pope said “that the crib serves to bring food closer to the mouth and consume it more quickly” and that “it can thus symbolize an aspect of humanity: the voracity to consume.”
“Because, while the animals in the stable consume the food, the men of the world, hungry for power and money, devour their neighbors, brothers in the same way,” said Francisco, adding: “How many wars! Even today, dignity and freedom are trampled on. And the main victims of human voracity are always the fragile, the weak.”
“This Christmas, as it happened with Jesus, a humanity insatiable of money, power and pleasure does not give way to the little ones, to the unborn children, to the poor, to the forgotten. I am thinking above all of the children devoured by wars, poverty and injustice”, he lamented.
On poverty, the Pope recalled the invitation to “be a Church that adore the poor Jesus and serve Jesus in the poor.”
And then he quoted the words of the assassinated and proclaimed Holy Archbishop of San Salvador, Óscar Arnulfo Romero: “The Church supports and blesses the efforts to transform these structures of injustice and only sets one condition: that the social, economic and political transformations result in a true benefit of the poor”.
The Pope recalled that it is not really Christmas without the poor.
“Christmas is celebrated without them, but not with Jesus. Brothers, sisters, at Christmas God is poor. May charity be reborn!” exhorted the Pope.
On the other hand, the pontiff called for “a concrete faith, made of adoration and charity, not of words and exteriority.”
“Let’s not let this Christmas go by without doing something good. As it is his party, his birthday, we have given him gifts that he likes. At Christmas God is concrete, in his name we will rekindle a little hope to those who have lost it,” said the Argentine pontiff.
Jorge Bergoglio will return to the window of Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Sunday, as he did when he was elected Pope in 2013, to read the Christmas message and give the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world). . ) blessing ).
Source: TSF
