Jesus was poor, so don’t be power-hungry
By Frances D'Emilio
VATICAN CITY (AP) —
Recalling Jesus’ birth in a stable, Pope Francis rebuked those “ravenous” for
wealth and power at the expense of the vulnerable, including children, in a
Christmas Eve homily decrying war, poverty and greedy consumerism.
In the splendor of St.
Peter’s Basilica, Francis presided over the evening Mass attended by about
7,000 faithful, including tourists and pilgrims, who flocked to the church on a
warm evening and took their place behind rows of white-robed pontiffs.
Francis drew lessons
from the humility of Jesus’ first hours of life in a manger.
“While animals feed in
their stalls, men and women in our world, in their hunger for wealth and power,
consume even their neighbors, their brothers and sisters,” the pontiff
lamented. “How many wars have we seen! And in how many places, even today, are
human dignity and freedom treated with contempt!”
“As always, the
principal victims of this human greed are the weak and the vulnerable,” said
Francis, who didn’t cite any specific conflict or situation.
“This Christmas, too,
as in the case of Jesus, a world ravenous for money, power and pleasure does
not make room for the little ones, for the so many unborn, poor and forgotten
children,” the pope said, reading his homily with a voice that sounded tired
and almost hoarse. “I think above all of the children devoured by war, poverty
and injustice.”
Still, the pontiff
exhorted people to take heart.
“Do not allow yourself
to be overcome by fear, resignation or discouragement.” Jesus’ lying in a manger
shows where “the true riches in life are to be found: not in money and power,
but in relationships and persons.”
Remarking on the “so
much consumerism that has packaged the mystery” of Christmas, Francis said
there was a danger the day’s meaning could be forgotten.
But, he said, Christmas
focuses attention on “the problem of our humanity — the indifference produced
by the greedy rush to possess and consume.”
“Jesus was born poor,
lived poor and died poor,” Francis said. “He did not so much talk about poverty
as live it, to the very end, for our sake.”
Francis urged people to
“not let this Christmas pass without doing something good.”
When the Mass ended,
the pope, pushed in a wheelchair by an aide, moved down the basilica with a
life-sized statue of Baby Jesus on his lap and flanked by several children
carrying bouquets. The statue then was placed in a manger in a creche scene in
the basilica.
Francis, 86, has been
using a wheelchair to navigate long distances due to a painful knee ligament
and a cane for shorter distances.
Traditionally,
Catholics mark Christmas Eve by attending Mass at midnight. But over the years,
the starting time at the Vatican has crept earlier, reflecting the health or
stamina of popes and then the pandemic.
Two years ago, the
start of Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica was moved up to 7:30 p.m.
to allow faithful to get home before for a nighttime curfew imposed by the
Italian government as a measure to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Although
virtually all pandemic-triggered restrictions have long been lifted in Italy,
the Vatican kept to the early start time.
During Saturday
evening’s service, a choir sang hymns. Clusters of potted red poinsettia plants
near the altar contrasted with the cream-colored vestments of the pontiff.
On Sunday, tens of
thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims were expected to crowd into St.
Peter’s Square to hear Pope Francis deliver an address on world issues and give
his blessing. The speech, known in Latin as “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and to
the world), generally is an occasion to review crises including war,
persecution and hunger, in many parts of the globe.
___
Associated Press
journalist Luigi Navarra contributed.
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