Vatican City, 3 January 2016 (VIS) –
On the first Sunday of the year and the second after Christmas, Pope
Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic
Palace at midday to pray the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims
gathered in St. Peter's Square. “The Word – that is, the creative
Word of God – was made flesh, and dwelt among us”, he said,
referring to the prologue of the Gospel of St. John. “That Word,
which dwells in heaven, that is, in the dimension of God, came to
earth so that we might listen and be able to know and touch with our
hand the love of the Father. The Word of God is the Only-begotten
Son, made man, full of love and of faithfulness, Jesus Himself”.
The Pope explained that the Evangelist
“does not conceal the dramatic nature of the Incarnation of the Son
of God, emphasising that the gift of God's love is countered with its
non-acceptance on the part of man. The World is light, but men have
preferred darkness;. They closed the door in the face of the Son of
God. It is the mystery of evil that undermines our life and that
necessitates vigilance and attention on our part, so that it does not
prevail. The Book of Genesis offers us a beautiful phrase that helps
us to understand this: it says that evil 'lies in wait at our door'.
Woe to us if we allow it to enter, as it would then close our door to
anyone else. Instead we are called upon to throw open the door of our
heart to the Word of God, to Jesus, thus to become His children”.
The Holy Father reiterated that once
again the Church invites us to welcome the Word of salvation, this
mystery of light. “If we welcome Jesus, we will grow in
understanding and in the love of the Lord, and will learn to be
merciful like Him”, he said. “Especially in this Holy Year of
Mercy, let us be sure that the Gospel becomes ever more incarnate in
our own lives too. Approaching the Gospel, meditating on it and
incarnating it in daily life is the best way of understanding Jesus
and bringing Him to others. This is the vocation and joy of every
baptised person – showing Jesus and bringing Him to others – but
to do this we must first know Him and have Him within us, as the Lord
of our life. He will defend us from evil, from the devil, who always
lies in wait by our door and wants to enter”.
He concluded, “With the renewed zeal
of filial abandon, let us entrust ourselves yet again to Mary, whose
sweet image as the Mother of Jesus and as our Mother we contemplate
in the nativity during these days”.
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