Pope urges sober lifestyle, self assessment for Christmas; remembers migrants, refugees

(December 05, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday invited Christians to imitate the example of John the Baptist saying the sober ways of the precursor of Christ represent a genuine spirit of Christmas. “Choose a sober lifestyle," and “make an honest assessment your life,” are the exhortations of John the Baptist to Christians during Advent, the Pope said before reciting his weekly midday ‘Angelus’ with a large crowd in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. The Pope was reflecting on the Gospel of the Second Sunday of Advent that presents John the Baptist as a very ascetic figure dressed in camel skin who feeds on locusts and wild honey found in the desert of Judea. Focussing on the mission of John the Baptist, the 84-year Pontiff said that it is an extraordinary appeal to conversion. His baptism "is tied to a fiery invitation to a new way of thinking and acting, it is above all linked to the announcement of God's justice" and the imminent appearance of the Messiah, defined as "he who is mightier than I" and who will "baptize with the Holy Spirit." "Therefore, John’s appeal, the Pope continued, “goes far beyond and deeper than a call to a sober lifestyle: it is a call for inner change, starting with the recognition and confession of our sins.” Pope Benedict thus invited all to find time for self contemplation and an honest assessment of life.
Pope Benedict XVI made use of his Sunday ‘Angelus’ to also draw attention to the plight of migrants and refugees. Speaking after the Marian prayer and his blessing, he recalled that "in the coming days, in Geneva and other cities, the world will be marking three occasions: the 60th anniversary of the International Organization for Migration, the 60th anniversary of the Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 50th anniversary of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The Holy Father entrusted to the Lord all those who, often forcibly, must leave their homeland, or who are stateless. While encouraging solidarity for them, the Pope prayed for all those “who are doing their utmost to protect and assist these brothers and sisters in emergency situations, even if it means exposing themselves to serious hardships and dangers.”