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by Pope Benedict XVI
Advent watchfulness means living in God's presence and according to his criteria
in order to prepare a worthy dwelling-place for the promised Savior
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In these days, as we come gradually closer to the great Feast of Christmas, the
liturgy impels us to intensify our preparation, placing at our disposal many
biblical texts of the Old and New Testaments that encourage us to focus clearly
on the meaning and value of this annual feast day.
If, on the one hand, Christmas makes us commemorate the incredible miracle of
the birth of the Only-Begotten Son of God from the Virgin Mary in the Bethlehem
Grotto, on the other, it also urges us to wait, watching and praying, for our
Redeemer himself, who on the last day "will come to judge the living and the
dead".
Perhaps we today, even we believers, really await the Judge, but we all expect
justice. We see so much injustice in the world, in our little world, at home, in
the neighborhood, but also in the great world of States and societies. And we
expect justice to be done.
Justice is an abstract concept: one does justice. We are waiting for one to come
in concrete terms who can do justice. And in this sense we pray: Come, Lord
Jesus Christ, as Judge, come in your own way. The Lord knows how to enter the
world and create justice. Let us pray that the Lord, the Judge, will respond to
us, that he will truly create justice in the world.
We are waiting for justice but it cannot be merely the expression of a certain
requirement with regard to others. Waiting for justice in the Christian sense
means above all that we ourselves begin to live under the eyes of the Judge, in
accordance with the criteria of the Judge; that we begin to live in his
presence, doing justice in our own lives. Thus, by doing justice, putting
ourselves in the Judge's presence, we wait for justice in reality. And this is
the meaning of Advent, of vigilance.
The watchfulness of Advent means living under the eyes of the Judge and thus
preparing ourselves and the world for justice. In this way, therefore, living
under the eyes of the God-Judge, we can open the world to the coming of his Son
and predispose hearts to welcome "the Lord who comes".
The Child whom the shepherds adored in a grotto on the night of Bethlehem about
2,000 years ago, never tires of visiting us in our daily lives while we journey
on as pilgrims towards the Kingdom. In his expectation, therefore, the believer
becomes an interpreter of the hopes of all humanity; humanity yearns for justice
and thus, although often unconsciously, is waiting for God, waiting for
salvation which God alone can give to us.
Prayer, in the time of waiting
For us Christians, this expectation is marked by assiduous prayer, as appears
clearly in the particularly evocative series of prayers proposed to us during
these days of the Christmas Novena, in Mass, in the Gospel acclamation and in
the celebration of Vespers before the Canticle of the Magnificat.
Each one of the invocations that implores the coming of Wisdom, of the Sun of
justice, of the God-with-us, contains a prayer addressed by the people to the
One awaited so that he will hasten his coming. However, invoking the gift of the
birth of the promised Saviour also means committing ourselves to preparing his
way, to having a worthy dwelling-place ready for him, not only in the area that
surrounds us but especially within our souls.
Letting ourselves be guided by the Evangelist John, let us seek in these days,
therefore, to turn our minds and hearts to the eternal Word, to the Logos, to
the Word that was made flesh, from whose fullness we have received grace upon
grace (cf. Jn 1: 14, 16).
This faith in the Logos Creator, in the Word who created the world, in the One
who came as a Child, this faith and its great hope unfortunately appear today
far from the reality of life lived every day, publicly or privately. This truth
seems too great.
As for us, we fend for ourselves according to the possibilities we find, or at
least this is how it seems. Yet, in this way the world becomes ever more chaotic
and even violent; we see it every day. And the light of God, the light of Truth,
is extinguished. Life becomes dark and lacks a compass. Thus, how important it
is that we really are believers and that as believers we strongly reaffirm, with
our lives, the mystery of salvation that brings with it the celebration of
Christ's Birth!
In Bethlehem, the Light which brightens our lives was manifested to the world;
the way that leads us to the fullness of our humanity was revealed to us. If
people do not recognize that God was made man, what is the point of celebrating
Christmas? The celebration becomes empty.
We Christians must first reaffirm the truth about the Birth of Christ with deep
and heartfelt conviction, in order to witness to all the awareness of an
unprecedented gift which is not only a treasure for us but for everyone. From
this stems the duty of evangelization which is, precisely, the communication of
this "eu-angelion", this "Good News". This was recently recalled in the Document
of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith entitled Doctrinal Note on
some aspects of evangelization, which I would like to submit to your reflection
and your personal and community study (3 December 2007).
Dear friends, in this preparation for Christmas, now at hand, the Church's
prayer for the fulfilment of the hopes of peace, salvation and justice which the
world today urgently needs becomes more intense. Let us ask God to grant that
violence be overcome by the power of love, that opposition give way to
reconciliation and that the desire to oppress be transformed into the desire for
forgiveness, justice and peace.
Peace in our hearts, in families
May the kind and loving good wishes that we exchange in these days reach all the
contexts of our daily lives. May peace be in our hearts so that they are open to
the action of God's grace. May peace dwell in families and may they spend
Christmas united in front of the crib and the tree decorated with lights.
May the message of solidarity and good will that comes from Christmas contribute
to creating a deeper sensitivity to the old and new forms of poverty, to the
common good, in which we are all called to participate. May all members of the
family community, especially children, the elderly, the weakest, feel the warmth
of this feast and may it extend subsequently to all the days in the year.
May Christmas be a feast of peace and joy for everyone: joy in the Birth of the
Saviour, the Prince of Peace. Like the shepherds, let us hasten toward Bethlehem
from this very moment. In the heart of the Holy Night, we too will be able to
contemplate the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, together
with Mary and Joseph (cf. Lk 2: 12, 16).
Let us ask the Lord to open our hearts, so that we may enter into the mystery of
his Birth. May Mary, who gave her virginal womb to the Word of God, whom as
Mother she contemplated as a baby in her motherly arms and whom she continues to
offer to everyone as the Redeemer of the world, help us make this Christmas an
opportunity for growth in the knowledge and love of Christ. This is the wish
that I express with affection to all of you who are present here, to your
families and to all your loved ones.
Happy Christmas to you all!
Source: General Audience by Pope on Wednesday, 19 December 2007 at the in the
Vatican
See Also:
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