Pope Francis used the Christmas mass in St. Peter’s Basilica as a reminder for peace. The head of the approximately 1.3 billion Catholics recalled the Christmas message “Peace on Earth to people” at the service in the Vatican on Sunday evening. Referring to the war in the Middle East, Francis said: “Our hearts are in Bethlehem tonight.” On Monday, Pope Francis will speak the Urbi et Orbi blessing to the city and the world from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
In the Middle East, “the prince of peace is still being rejected by the doomed logic of war, by the noise of weapons,” the pontiff explained. This year the festival is particularly influenced by the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine. According to the Vatican, around 7,000 people took part in the service in St. Peter’s Basilica. In addition, the events in St. Peter’s Square in front of the church were watched by thousands on large screens. 250 cardinals, bishops and priests concelebrated the solemn liturgy with the 87-year-old Pope at the central altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. The pontiff led the Christmas celebrations for the eleventh time this year.
“There is a danger that we experience Christmas with a pagan idea of God, as if he were a powerful Lord in heaven, a God associated with power, worldly success and the idolatry of consumerism,” Pope Francis said in his sermon.
Christmas mass brought forward
The traditional Christmas mass on December 24th was brought forward – as in previous years – and began at 7.30 p.m. The mass in memory of the birth of Christ around 2,000 years ago was broadcast live in several countries and on the Internet. Along with the Easter celebrations, Christmas is a highlight of the church year for many practicing Christians.
During the Angelus prayer on the last Sunday of Advent, Pope Francis asked the faithful not to confuse Christmas with consumerism. He appealed to Christians to celebrate Christmas “with simplicity and without waste” and to include all those who are lonely in the celebration. At the same time, the Pope made a call for peace. He expressly recalled the conflicts in Israel, Palestine and Ukraine. The head of the Catholic Church remembered all those people who suffer from poverty, hunger and slavery.
The Pope recalled the Christmas story in the New Testament, according to which Joseph and Mary have to go to Bethlehem for a census. The heavily pregnant Mary gives birth to Jesus in a manger. “Tonight our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is still repelled by the doomed logic of war, by the noise of weapons that prevents him even today from finding a home in the world,” the church leader preached.
Picture gallery: Christmas mass in the Vatican
Vatican (Photo: TIZIANA FABI (AFP)) Bild 1/17
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God is not a powerful ruler associated with worldly success and “the idolatry of consumerism,” Francis said. He is also not a God who only serves to solve people’s problems. “He does not use a magic wand, he is not the commercial god of ‘everything and instant’,” the Pope emphasized. “He doesn’t save us at the push of a button, but rather he comes close to us to change reality from within.”
Many feel inadequacy and dissatisfaction
In a world that judges and does not forgive, many people feel feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction, Francis continued. But Jesus does not wait for successful achievements, but for an open and trusting heart.
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Christmas will be celebrated very quietly in the Holy Land this year because of the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas. In Bethlehem in the West Bank – according to tradition the birthplace of Jesus Christ – there are hardly any tourists, unlike usual. There were no Christmas trees. Access to the city is extremely restricted by Israeli army roadblocks. There are also practically no Christmas decorations in Jerusalem.
