Remember the poor and shun materialism, pope says on Christmas Eve

Image

Pope Francis leads Christmas eve Mass 

VATICAN CITY: December 24, 2018. (Reuters) Pope Francis led the world’s Roman Catholics into Christmas on Monday, urging people in the developed world to seek a simpler, less materialistic life and condemning the yawning gap between the rich and the poor.

Pope Francis leads the Christmas Eve mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, December 24, 2018. REUTERS/Max Rossi

Francis, 82, marking the sixth Christmas of his papacy, led a solemn service for nearly 10,000 people in St. Peter’s Basilica for his traditional Christmas Eve Mass.

Security has been tight around the Vatican and many other tourist areas in Rome for the Christmas season.

Last week police in southern Italy arrested a Somali man suspected of having been a member of Islamic State and who had threatened to bomb churches in Italy, including St. Peter’s.

In his homily, Francis said the infant Jesus, born in poverty in a stable, should make everyone, particularly those who have become “greedy and voracious,” reflect on the real meaning of life.

“... Let us ask ourselves: Do I really need all these material objects and complicated recipes for living? Can I manage without all these unnecessary extras and live a life of greater simplicity?” Francis said.

“In our day, for many people, life’s meaning is found in possessing, in having an excess of material objects. An insatiable greed marks all human history, even today, when, paradoxically, a few dine luxuriantly while all too many go without the daily bread needed to survive,” he said.

Francis, the first pope from Latin America, has made defending the poor a hallmark of his papacy.

On Saturday, the Vatican said he had given the homeless in Rome a Christmas gift of a new clinic in St. Peter’s Square where they can get free medical help.

The Catholic charity Caritas estimated late last year that there are more than 16,000 homeless in Rome and their number congregating near the Vatican has grown visibly in recent years, especially at night when they cluster under arcades to sleep.

Italian authorities close airport as Mount Etna erupts

Monday night’s Christmas Eve papal Mass was the first held with a new, energy-saving lighting system for the largest church in Christendom. It employs 100,000 LEDs (light emitting diodes), using only 10 percent of the energy of the previous system.

On Christmas Day on Tuesday, Francis will deliver his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the same balcony where he first appeared after his election on March 13, 2013.

 

You May Also Like

Image

5 Italians to be elevated as cardinals by Pope Francis at Dec. 7 consistory

Vatican City: (By Kristina Millare for CAN) Five Italians have been chosen by Pope Francis to become cardinals at the Dec. 7 consistory, four of wh

Image

Pope Francis confirms plans to visit Turkey for historic Nicaea council anniversary

Rome: (By Hannah Brockhaus for CNA)  Pope Francis told a group of theologians on Thursday he plans to visit Turkey for the 1,700th annive

Image

Pope Francis announces 2025 canonizations for Carlo Acutis, Pier Giorgio Frassati

Vatican City: (By Courtney Mares for CAN) Pope Francis announced Wednesday that Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, two young C



"Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" By Nazir S Bhatti

On demand of our readers, I have decided to release E-Book version of "Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" on website of PCP which can also be viewed on website of Pakistan Christian Congress www.pakistanchristiancongress.org . You can read chapter wise by clicking tab on left handside of PDF format of E-Book.

nazirbhattipcc@aol.com , pakistanchristianpost@yahoo.com