My dear Brothers and Sisters!
In a few days it will be Christmas again! ... the Son of God is born and bursts into History, brightening and giving it new meaning, the Word of God who becomes flesh, exalts man and saves him by freeing him from the darkness of sin.
With this message and greetings (on my part and that of the new Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development) I would like to remind you that Christmas brings with it first of all a message of hope ... an invitation to recognize the salvific presence of God in the shadows of our life, however painful they may sometimes be. A God who becomes man and with man shares his humanity, his sorrows and his joys.
At the same time Christmas lights up the way ... Let's look at the manger: Christ chooses to be born poor, in the cold, in a manger, from parents who escape the persecutions of the powerful and who seek shelter away from their land and their home, and choose this condition as privileged, telling us to do the same, favoring the poor, the marginalized, the displaced and the refugees, the sick, the elderly, abused women and all those who suffer or are victims of injustice, such as trafficking, slavery and so many forms of solitude that stifle the soul ... Jesus, born in the humble stable of Bethlehem, invites us to look for his Face in a special way ... because it is from this void that the light of the glory of God emerges ...
This Christmas Season our prayers go out in particular to all those forced to leave their land and their family because of wars, poverty and climate change, and to the poor we meet on the street and to those who due to life events have lost their home and security, to those who have no work or are alone, to the sick and especially to the poorest who do not have access to basic care and assistance ....
Let us therefore take on the invitation of Pope Francis, who tells us that "Amid a culture of indifference which not infrequently turns ruthless, our style of life should instead be devout, filled with empathy, compassion and mercy, drawn daily from the wellspring of prayer” … in the certainty that Christ is the truth that we seek and need. And He allows Himself to be found, right at Christmas, from those who seek him with a sincere heart!
Merry Christmas to all!