Pope Francis affirmed that God’s invitation today, for each one, is not to be afraid to take the first step, to thus open windows of light, in the midst of the darkness of today’s world.
On a cold Roman Sunday, marked by rain and a St. Peter’s Square with a crowd carrying umbrellas, the Holy Father meditated on today’s gospel (Jn 1:1-18), in which Jesus is referred to as follows: : “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
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Pope Francis highlighted that this can be seen during this Christmas time, “when the Son of God, made man, overcomes so many walls and so many divisions,” sharing “the humble life of Mary and Joseph, who welcome him and raise him with love.” , but with the limited possibilities and the difficulties typical of those who do not have means, they were poor.”
The Holy Father also highlighted that the Lord allows the shepherds and the Three Wise Men to find him, overcoming difficulties, because “God never stops: he finds thousands of ways to reach each and every one of us, wherever we are, without calculations and without conditions, also opening in the darkest nights of humanity windows of light that darkness cannot cover.”
Speaking about today’s world, Pope Francis said that God makes it possible to get out of complicated situations, although sometimes “it seems impossible to get out of them.”
Pope Francis invites us to take “the first step”
“But today the Word of God tells us that this is not the case: in fact, it calls us to imitate the God of love, opening flashes of light wherever we can, with anyone we encounter, in all contexts: family, social, international. It invites us not to be afraid to take the first step. This is the Lord’s invitation today: Let us not be afraid to take the first step”.
The Pontiff then recognized that “it takes courage to give it, without fear, opening luminous windows of closeness to those who suffer, of forgiveness, compassion and reconciliation, these are so many first steps that we must take to make the path clearer, safer and possible for everyone.”
After highlighting that “this invitation resonates in a particular way in the Jubilee Year that has just begun” to be “messengers of hope,” Pope Francis questioned: “In what way can I open a window of light in my environment and in my relationships?” ? Where can I be a loophole that lets the love of God through? What is the first step I should take today?”
Prayer for the end of the war in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel and other countries
At the conclusion of this Sunday’s Angelus prayer, Pope Francis renewed his prayer for countries still suffering from war.
“We continue to pray for peace, in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Myanmar, Sudan. May the international community act firmly so that humanitarian law is respected in conflicts,” cried the Holy Father.
“Stop attacking civilians, no more attacks on schools, hospitals, no more attacks on workplaces! Let us not forget that war is always a defeat, always!”, concluded the Pontiff.
Walter Sánchez Silva
I have been a husband since 2008. My wife and I have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before he was born. Since I joined ACI Prensa in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Cologne, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and of Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the Family synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Synodality, in 2023. I closely follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers persecution from the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as current ecclesiastical events in the region.