The last general audience of 2011, was a festive affair. Traditional Alpine bagpipe
players dressed in leather breeches, entertained the eight thousand people packed
into the Paul VI audience hall as they waited for Pope Benedict XVI’s arrival, while
small children escaped the clutches of their parents to gaze in awe at the life size
Nativity Scene gifted this year by the people of Pueblo in Mexico. Listen
to our full report:
In fact Christmas,
and how we should celebrate the festive season, was also at the heart of the Holy
Father’s catechesis this week as he appealed to believers not to allow the external
symbols of Christmas time swallow up its truest, most sacred sense. That the Lord
is born for us all, even today, for mankind of the third millennium.
Speaking
in English he said: “As Christmas approaches, I offer prayerful good wishes to you
and your families for a spiritually fruitful celebration of the Lord’s birth. At
Midnight Mass, we sing: “Today a Saviour is born for us”. This “Today” evokes an
eternal present, for the mystery of Christ’s coming transcends time and permeates
all history. “Today” – every day - we are invited to discover the presence of God’s
saving love in our midst. In the birth of Jesus, God comes to us and asks us to receive
him, so that he can be born in our lives and transform them, and our world, by the
power of his love. The Christmas liturgy also invites us to contemplate Christ’s
birth against the backdrop of his paschal mystery. Christmas points beyond itself,
to the redemption won for us on the Cross and the glory of the Resurrection. May
this Christmas fill you with joy in the knowledge that God has drawn near to us and
is with us at every moment of our lives”.
Earlier in comments in Italian
Pope Benedict said: “Christmas greetings, which are exchanged in these days, must
not loose their religious significance in today's society and the celebration must
not be absorbed by external aspects that touch the heartstrings. Certainly, the external
symbols are beautiful and important, provided they do not distract us, but rather
help us to experience Christmas in its truest sense, which is sacred and Christian,
so that our joy is not superficial but profound”.
He continued: “mankind today
finds it increasingly difficult to open his eyes and enter the world of God", but
Christmas comes each year to tell us that "God became man, He entered the limits of
time and space to make it possible to meet him." It is event that involves" all men”.
“The Incarnation and the birth of Jesus invite us already to direct our gaze toward
His death and resurrection: Christmas and Easter are both celebrations of redemption.
Easter celebrates it as a victory over sin and death: it marks the final moment, when
the glory of the God-man shines like the light of day; Christmas celebrates it as
God’s becoming man in history to bring man to God; it marks, so to speak, the starting
point when we can see the light of dawn. But just as the dawn precedes and already
foresees the light of day, so Christmas has already announced the cross and the glory
of the Resurrection. May these two periods of the year, in which the two great celebrations
are placed, at least in some areas of the world, help us to understand this aspect.
In fact, Easter falls in early spring, when the sun defeats the dense fog and cold
and renews the face of the earth, Christmas is right at the beginning of winter, when
the light and warmth of the sun can not awaken nature, shrouded by the cold under
whose blanket, however, it pulses with life. "
He also added that in these
holy days “Christian charity must be particularly active to the most needy" because
"there can be no delays for the poor."
At the end of the audience, Pope Benedict
XVI received an early Christmas present, a parcel of letter’s and drawings by 33 children,
delivered him by the three small winners of a competition held by the Archdiocese
of Seoul, Korea, and the Korean Catholic newspaper Pyeonghwa Shinmun (Journal of Peace)
to mark the 60th anniversary of the Holy Father’s priestly ordination.
A touching scene as Pope Benedict bowed to speak to the small children overcome with
excitement. During Mass on Christmas Eve one of these children will read the prayer
of the faithful in Korean, the other two will receive Communion from the hands of
the Holy Father.
Finally Pope Benedict XVI greeted all of the pilgrims present
in various languages including English: I greet all the English-speaking visitors
present, including the pilgrimage groups from Singapore and the United States. My
special greetings and good wishes go to the Tenth World Congress of the International
Association of Maternal and Neonatal Health. My greeting also goes to the primary
school children from Korea. I welcome the alumni of the Pontifical North American
College who are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary of ordination, and the students
of Holy Spirit Seminary in Brisbane, Australia. Upon all of you and your families
I invoke God’s abundant blessings. Merry Christmas”!
The Wednesday General
Audience was Pope Benedict XVI’s last public appointment before the beginning of Christmas
celebrations. The Holy Father will preside at the Christmas vigil in St Peter’s Basilica,
beginning 10 pm Rome time. Full live coverage of all Christmas celebrations here
at the Vatican will be streamed live by Vatican Television and Vatican Radio with
commentary options in English, on www.vatican.va/video