Pope Francis on Christmas Eve: The poor manger was rich in love

December 24, 2020 CNA Daily News News Briefs 5 Print

Vatican City, Dec 24, 2020 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis said that the poverty of Christ’s birth in a stable contains an important lesson for today.

“That manger, poor in everything yet rich in love, teaches that true nourishment in life comes from letting ourselves be loved by God and loving others in turn,” Pope Francis said Dec. 24.

“God always loves us with a greater love than we have for ourselves. … Only the love of Jesus can transform our lives, heal our deepest hurts and set us free from the vicious circles of disappointment, anger and constant complaint,” the pope said in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Pope Francis offered “Midnight Mass” early this year due to Italy’s national curfew at 10 p.m. The country has entered into a lockdown for the Christmas season in an effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

In his Christmas homily, the pope posed a question: Why was the Son of God born in the poverty of a stable?

“In the lowly manger of a darkened stable, the Son of God was truly present,” he said. “Why was he born at night without decent accommodation, in poverty and rejection, when he deserved to be born as the greatest of kings in the finest of palaces?”

“Why? To make us understand the immensity of his love for our human condition: even touching the depths of our poverty with his concrete love. The Son of God was born an outcast, in order to tell us that every outcast is a child of God,” Pope Francis said.

“He came into the world as each child comes into the world, weak and vulnerable, so that we can learn to accept our weaknesses with tender love.”

The pope said that God “placed our salvation in a manger” and is therefore unafraid of poverty, adding, “God loves to work wonders through our poverty.”

“Dear sister, dear brother, never be discouraged. Are you tempted to feel you were a mistake? God tells you, ‘No, you are my child.’ Do you have a feeling of failure or inadequacy, the fear that you will never emerge from the dark tunnel of trial? God says to you, ‘Have courage, I am with you,’” he said.

“The angel proclaims to the shepherds: ‘This will be a sign for you: a baby lying in a  manger.’ That sign, the Child in the manger, is also a sign for us, to guide us through life,” the pope said.

About 100 people were present inside the basilica for the Mass. After the proclamation of the birth of Christ in Latin, Pope Francis spent a few moments venerating the Christ child at the start of the Mass.

“God came among us in poverty and need, to tell us that in serving the poor, we will show our love for him,” he said.

Pope Francis then quoted the poet Emily Dickinson, who wrote: “God’s residence is next to mine, his furniture is love.”

At the end of his homily, the pope prayed: “Jesus, you are the Child who makes me a child. You love me as I am, I know, not as I imagine myself to be. In embracing you, the Child of the manger, I once more embrace my life. In welcoming You, the Bread of life, I too desire to give my life.”

“You, my Savior, teach me to serve. You who did not leave me alone, help me to comfort your brothers and sisters, for, You know, from this night forward, all are my brothers and sisters.”

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Vatican unveils theme for 2nd World Day for Grandparents and Elderly

February 15, 2022 Catholic News Agency 1
Pope Francis visits the elderly in Rieti, Italy on Oct. 4, 2016. / L’Osservatore Romano.

Vatican City, Feb 15, 2022 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

The Vatican announced on Tuesday that Pope Francis has chosen a theme for the second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.

The Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life said on Feb. 15 that the grandparents’ day, which will be celebrated on July 24, will be an opportunity to reflect on verse 15 from Psalm 92: “In old age they will still bear fruit.”

The theme “intends to emphasize how grandparents and the elderly are a value and a gift both for society and for ecclesial communities,” a press release said.

“The theme is also an invitation to reconsider and value grandparents and the elderly who are too often kept on the margins of families, civil and ecclesial communities,” it continued. “Their experience of life and faith can contribute, in fact, to building societies that are aware of their roots and capable of dreaming of a future based on greater solidarity.”

Pope Francis established the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly in 2021. The day takes place annually on the fourth Sunday of July, on or close to the July 26 Feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim, the grandparents of Jesus.

Last year’s theme was “I am with you always,” taken from Matthew 28:20.

In a message released ahead of the 2021 celebration, Pope Francis encouraged the elderly to continue to spread the Gospel even in their old age.

“There is something beautiful here. Your prayer is a very precious resource: a deep breath that the Church and the world urgently need,” he said.

The Vatican’s laity, family, and life office said that the invitation to listen to the wisdom of the elderly is also significant in 2022 given the synodal journey the Church has undertaken.

This year, the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will also coincide with the 10th World Meeting of Families, taking place in Rome from June 22-26.

The Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life said it invites Catholic parishes, dioceses, associations, and communities around the world to celebrate the elderly and grandparents on July 24.

The Vatican will also provide some pastoral resources for its celebration in the coming months.

Pope Francis, who is 85 years old, has been an advocate for the dignity of the aging, and has often emphasized the important role of grandparents in passing on the Catholic faith.

For the 2021 World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, the pope said he was worried about how an individualistic society treats its older members.

In a homily read by Archbishop Rino Fisichella on July 25, 2021, Francis urged young people to show love and affection to the older generations.

“I worry when I see a society full of people in constant motion, too caught up in their own affairs to have time for a glance, a greeting or a hug,” he said at a Mass for around 2,500 elderly people and grandparents, together with their children and grandchildren, in St. Peter’s Basilica.

“Our grandparents, who nourished our own lives, now hunger for our attention and our love; they long for our closeness. Let us lift up our eyes and see them, even as Jesus sees us,” Pope Francis stated.

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