Vatican spokesman and Vatican Radio Director General Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi
has offered the following reflection on Pope Benedict XVI's address to the Roman Curia
on Monday, December 22, 2011:
"Again this year in his address to his collaborators
of the Roman Curia before Christmas, the Pope was able to tell us something nice and
very encouraging. He did so against the backdrop of this time of crisis that he believes
- rightly - not only of an economic nature, but more profoundly, of a moral, cultural,
spiritual nature. And he reflected on one of the experiences that has struck him most
in this past year: World Youth Day in Madrid.
Pope Benedict identifies "a
new, rejuvenated way of being Christians," and there he outlines five steps, five
ways to understand what and how to announce the Gospel in a world that seems "tired"
and "bored" of being Christian.
First, "a new experience of catholicity, the
universality of the Church:" that we are all brothers and sisters is not just an idea,
but an experience. Then, "being there for others is beautiful." Time and life find
meaning when they are given freely, not when they are kept for one’s self. Thus the
adoration , the act of faith before the Risen Christ present in the Eucharist: God
is really present among us, for us and with us.
And again, God's forgiveness
for all of us in the sacrament of Penance, is there to continually contrast our selfishness,
to lighten our burden and reopen ourselves to love. Finally, the assurance of being
wanted, accepted, welcomed, loved by God.
Together, giving of ourselves, believing,
asking forgiveness, trusting in love. Walking along these five steps, life opens up
to the joy. If not, the doubt over whether it is good to exist or not finds no answer
and becomes insurmountable, and life is prey to sadness. "From doubts about God inevitably
follow the very same doubts about being human" - says the Pope. But God became man
precisely to help us overcome these doubts. Thus: "It 'good to exist as human beings,
even in tough times.