VATICAN CITY, DEC. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- For a world in financial and moral crisis, the Baby Jesus is a light in the darkness, Benedict XVI is affirming.
The Pope stated this today in his traditional Christmas message, which he delivered today at noon from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
«The light of that first Christmas was like a fire kindled in the night,» he said. «All about there was darkness, while in the cave there shone the true light.»
«God loves to light little lights, so as then to illuminate vast spaces,» the Pontiff affirmed.
This is the history of the Church, he said, which began its journey «in the lowly cave of Bethlehem, and down the centuries it has become a people and a source of light for humanity.»
«Today too,» the Holy Father affirmed, «in those who encounter that Child, God still kindles fires in the night of the world, calling men and women everywhere to acknowledge in Jesus the ‘sign’ of his saving and liberating presence and to extend the ‘us’ of those who believe in Christ to the whole of mankind.»
«Wherever there is an ‘us’ that welcomes God’s love, there the light of Christ shines forth, even in the most difficult situations,» he added.
«The Church does not fear,» Benedict XVI said, «for that Child is its strength.»
He continued: «But she does not keep him for herself: She offers him to all those who seek him with a sincere heart, to the earth’s lowly and afflicted, to the victims of violence, and to all who yearn for peace.
«Today too, on behalf of a human family profoundly affected by a grave financial crisis, yet even more by a moral crisis, and by the painful wounds of wars and conflicts, the Church, in faithful solidarity with mankind, repeats with the shepherds: ‘Let us go to Bethlehem,’ for there we shall find our hope.»
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full text: http://zenit.org/article-27950?l=english
