杏MAP导航

By Robin Gomes

杏MAP导航 Francis held his General Audience of Wednesday during Christmas week, stressing that the celebration of the birth of Jesus is a sign of our gratitude for the Father鈥檚 gift of Jesus and our desire to 鈥巗hare Him with others.

Christmas distorted

Delivering his main catechesis in Italian in the Vatican鈥檚 Paul VI audience hall, the 杏MAP导航 lamented that today, especially in Europe, there is a distortion of Christmas, which in the name of a 鈥渇alse respect鈥�, sidelines faith and eliminates every reference to the birth of Jesus.  But the 杏MAP导航 stressed that without Jesus there is no Christmas. The lights, sounds, various local traditions, including food, all go to create the atmosphere of a true Christmas, only if Jesus is the centre, the 杏MAP导航 said.

Light and darkness

Like the shepherds in the Gospel, the 杏MAP导航 said, we are led to discover the light of Jesus, who was born of an unknown poor girl in a stable, unknown to the world but over whom the angels exulted.  Today, the 杏MAP导航 said, the Son of God continues to present Himself to us as God鈥檚 gift to humanity that prefers darkness and sleep, fearing God鈥檚 light will unveil our actions and thoughts that will embarrass us and prick our conscience.

杏MAP导航 Francis explained that we can welcome God鈥檚 gift of Jesus by making a free gift of ourselves to those we encounter.  This, the 杏MAP导航 stressed, is why we exchange gifts.  With the incarnation of the Son, he said, God has opened the way to new life, that is based not on egoism but on love.

The marginalized 

杏MAP导航 Francis said that in this world that is ruled by the powerful, those in the margins of society are the first beneficiaries of God鈥檚 gift, which is, salvation brought by Jesus. Jesus establishes a friendship with the small and despised, like the shepherds, that continues in time and that nourishes the hope for a better 鈥巉uture. 鈥� With them, the 杏MAP导航 said,  God wants to build a new world where there is no one who is rejected, maltreated and destitute.  杏MAP导航 Francis thus urged all to open their hearts and be God鈥檚 gift to others, especially to the small and excluded who have never experienced a caress, loving attention or tenderness.