Birth of Christ Brings Light to Troubled World, Pope Says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a troubled world, the birth of Christ reveals God’s unwavering determination to draw all people to himself and to illuminate even the darkest corners, Pope Francis said.

Although he was born in a world “where there is a great need for light, hope and peace, a world where people sometimes create situations so complicated that it seems impossible to escape from them”, said declared Jesus, the pope. , opens windows of light “even in the darkest nights of humanity”.

“God never stops, he finds a thousand ways to reach each and every one of us, wherever we are, without calculation and without conditions,” he declared before praying the Angelus with the visitors. in Saint-Pierre Square on January 5.

Pope Francis said Christmas celebrates how Jesus, through his humble birth, “overcomes so many walls and so many divisions.”

“He confronts the closed minds and hearts of the ‘greats’ of his time, who are more concerned with the defense of power than with the search for the Lord,” he said.

Born to parents “without means”, Jesus offered himself to the shepherds who were in the fields with their sheep, “men whose hearts are marked by the harshness of life and contempt for society”, declared the pope, as well as the Magi who found Jesus “in great poverty”.

Pope Francis said Christians should be consoled and encouraged by the context of Jesus’ birth: “It seems impossible to escape from so many situations, but today the word of God tells us that it is not the case. »

He said Christians are called to “imitate the God of love, opening glimmers of light wherever we can, with whom we meet, in any context: family, social, international.”

God “invites us not to be afraid to take the first step,” the pope said. “Today is the Lord’s invitation: let us not be afraid to take the first step; it takes courage to do it, but let’s not be afraid.

Pope Francis said that opening “large, bright windows of closeness to those who suffer, of forgiveness, compassion and reconciliation” are the “many first steps we must take to make the path clearer, safer and possible for all.”

Particularly during the current Holy Year, he said, God invites Christians to be messengers of hope by saying “yes” to life in a simple and concrete way “with choices that bring life “.

After reciting the Angelus, Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Myanmar and Sudan. He called on the international community to “act firmly to ensure that humanitarian law is respected in conflicts”.

“No more schools and hospitals on strike; no more hitting workplaces,” he said. “Let us not forget that war is always a defeat, always! »

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