Vatican City, 14 December 2014 (VIS) –
This afternoon Pope Francis visited the Roman parish of San Giuseppe
all'Aurelio, in the Primavalle suburb of the capital. Before
celebrating the Eucharist, Francis met with various groups of people
and spoke informally with them.
First, he met with some children who
were preparing for their First Communion, and spoke about his own,
which took place on 8 October 1944. “I remember it as if it were
today. I prepared for a year with a very kind nun and two catechists.
… In those times, its was not possible to drink a little water
before Mass, nothing – not even a drop of water. It was Pope Pius
XII who saved us from this dictatorship! … And we all arrived in
the Church with our hands together, singing. … And later, in the
afternoon, we returned to the Church for our Confirmation: the same
day. And you, who will take your first Communion, will remember that
day for ever, all your life: the first day Jesus came to you. He
comes, He makes Himself one with us, he nourishes us to give us
strength. … Do not forget the date, and every year, on that day,
confess and take communion, will you?”
He then spoke to the Rom families in
the parish, wishing them peace within their families and adding, “May
there be work, and may there be joy. The joy of Jesus, the peace of
Jesus, and so on. Do not lose hope in difficult moments, as hope
never disappoints: the Lord gives it to us. And the Lord, sooner or
later, He always awaits us, always”.
The Holy Father then met with the sick,
and began by thanking them for their witness of patience, of love for
God and of hope in the Lord. “This does great good to the Church”,
he affirmed. “You continually nurture the Church with your life,
with your suffering, with your patience. Thank you, truly. The
Church, without the sick, would not carry on. You are the strength of
the Church, her true strength”.
Finally, he encountered newly baptised
children with their parents. “A child always offers a word of hope
simply by being. … A child is a seed of the future. …. And you,
parents, will say to God, protect my child in the future. Our hopes
reside in our children. We hand them the torch of faith and life, and
they will pass it on to their children, our grandchildren. This is
life. And in Baptism, you have given them faith, and thus faith from
Jesus' time up to the present day is like a chain, transmitted by
parents. And this is a real responsibility! Never forget the day of
your Baptism”.
Finally, after revealing that he was
baptised on 25 December, just eight days after his birth, as was the
custom at the time, Francis asked all those present to pray for him,
and added, “babies and children cry, they make noise, they run
about … and it bothers me greatly when a child cries in church and
people expect him or her to leave. No! It is the best sermon. The cry
of a child is the voice of God. Never, ever send them out of the
church!”
Following his meetings with the
parishioners, Pope Francis confessed several people and then
celebrated Mass. In his homily, he mentioned that “the Church this
Sunday anticipates the joy of the Nativity, and it is therefore
called 'Gaudete Sunday', joyful Sunday”. The joy of the Nativity,
he said, is a special joy the the Christian experiences not only on
that day, but throughout all his or her life. “It is a serene, calm
joy, a joy that always accompanies a Christian. Even in difficult
moments, this joy is transformed into peace. The true Christian never
loses this peace, even during suffering. This peace is a gift from
the Lord”.
Francis emphasised that we encounter
Christian joy in prayer and in giving thanks to God, and he spoke
about all those people who do not know how to thank God and who are
always looking for something to complain about. “A Christian cannot
live like this, always complaining. … No saint has ever had a sad
face. The saints always had joyful faces. Or at least, in moments of
suffering, their faces showed peace”. In this way, the Pontiff
explained that in order to obtain this Christian joy, which is not
the joy of consumerism on 24 December, first one must pray and give
thanks – but then there exists a further dimension, which is
bringing the glad tidings to others. “Go to others, those who are
in need, both materially and spiritually. They are many people who
suffer and are distraught as a result of family problems. Bring them
peace, the anointing of Jesus, the oil of Jesus which does so much
good and consoles the soul”.
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