Pope Francis reflected on the birth of Jesus and on God’s “style” of showing himself to the world in the child with the thought of St. The Pope announced on the same day that he had published the Apostolic Letter “Tutti all’amore”, whose title it is taken from the writings of the saint.
(Vatican News Network) coincides with the Christmas liturgical season and commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of Bishop St. Francis de Sales (St. Francis de Sales) and the saints of the Church What to reflect on during the Public Audience catechism. The Pope also announced that on the same day he will publish his Apostolic Letter for the 400th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Saint Francis.
“The title of the Pastoral Letter, All to Love”, said the Pope, is taken from a singular expression of the Holy Bishop of Geneva, who wrote in fact in “Of the Love of God”: “In the Holy Church, everything belongs to love, lives in love, acts out of love and from love.
The Pope recalled that in a letter written by St. Francis of St. Francis on the birth of Jesus, he imagined King Solomon “on a great ivory throne encrusted with pure gold and sculpted, superior to all the kings of the world, since is written” (cf. 1 Col 10:18-20.23). But a hundred times the Holy Bishop preferred “to see the dear little Holy Child in a manger than kings on their thrones”. “Jesus, the King of the world has never been on the throne, never», commented the Pope.
«Jesus was born in a stable, this is how we see him described. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger; and finally he died on the cross, wrapped in a shroud, and placed in a tomb. St. Luke’s obsession with the details of the manger when he describes the birth of Jesus shows that the manger is extremely important, not only as a logistical detail, but also as a symbolic element in understanding the birth in Bethlehem. he is that Messiah, what kind of king, and who is Jesus.”
The Pope underlined that the mystery of Jesus’ emptiness is manifested in the center of the crib, where the Child Jesus lies. This is the “sign” that God wants to give us at Christmas (cf. Lk 2:12): “he shows us the ‘style’ of God, which is closeness, mercy and tenderness”. God “does not advertise himself” and draws us to himself not by force but by love. The pope then quoted another letter from St. Francis of Salisbury. Whatever our state of mind, hardness or weakness, “we must let ourselves be attracted by this little Holy Child who has come down from heaven”, wrote the saint.
“God has found a way to attract us, whatever our circumstances”, said the Pope: “He attracts us with love. It is not a possessive and selfish love, as unfortunately human love often presents itself. His Love is a pure gift love, a pure favor, all and only for us, for our good, in doing so he attracts us with this defensive-defensive love, even non-defensive, because when we see it in Jesus with such simplicity, even we throw away the weapons of pride and go to him humbly, asking for salvation, forgiveness, light in our lives, so we can move forward”.
The Pope then explored another element, the poverty chosen by Jesus, with the Holy Bishop remembered that day by the Church. The saint saw in the Child Jesus “the complete renunciation of all possessions, of all the splendor of this world”. Speaking of our experience in this special period, the Pope said: “Let us be careful not to become a secular caricature of Christmas”. Today we see that there is also “another Christmas”, which has become “the secular caricature of Christmas”, which reduces Jesus’ Christmas “to a feast of consumption and hypocrisy”.
The Pope said that we need to celebrate the holidays, but this is not celebrating Christmas. Jesus’ Christmas is something else. “God’s love is not sweet talk, as Jesus’ manger shows us. God’s love is not a false kindness in which lurks the search for sympathy and comfort. Those of us who have lived through war and hunger Readers know it well: Christmas is certainly a time of joy and celebration, but lived with simplicity and parsimony”.
Looking at the baby Jesus in the manger, St. Francis Salleche said two days before he died that he saw in Jesus accepting everything that happened around him, completely dependent on his mother, without any demands. He wrote: “Therefore, we should desire nothing, nor should we refuse anything, but endure what God will give us, whether it be cold or the ravages of the weather.”
The Pope concluded: “Dear brothers and sisters, here is an important teaching, which is taught by the Holy Child Jesus through the wisdom of St., to accept what God has given us. But beware! of love, because God loves us and always and only wants us to gain».
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