Pope Francis waves to faithful during the Angelus noon prayer he delivered from his studio window overlooking St.Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan.15, 2017 - AP
15/01/2017 14:38
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis prayed the Angelus with pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. In remarks ahead of the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father focused on the witness borne by John the Baptist to Jesus Christ.
“The Church,” said Pope Francis, “is in every age called to do that, which John the Baptist did: to show Jesus to the people, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Click below to hear our report Departing from his prepared text, Pope Francis added, “There’s always trouble when the Church proclaims herself: she loses her way, and knows not where she goes.” Rather, “The Church proclaims Christ – she does not carry herself, she carries Christ, for He and He alone is the one who saves His people from sin: he frees them and leads them to the land of true liberty.”....Taken from: http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/01/15/pope_francis_at_angelus_church_called_to_proclaim_christ/1285892
Pope Francis leaves in procession after celebrating Mass marking
the feast of the Epiphany in St Peter's Basilica (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
On the feast of the Epiphany Francis said the Wise Men were 'guided by an inner restlessness'
The Magi had the courage to set out on a journey in the hope of
finding something new, unlike Herod who was full of himself and
unwilling to change his ways, Pope Francis has said.
The Wise Men who set out from the East in search of Jesus personify
all those who long for God and reflect “all those who in their lives
have let their hearts be anaesthetised”, the Pope said on January 6, the
feast of the Epiphany.
“The Magi experienced longing; they were tired of the usual fare.
They were all too familiar with, and weary of, the Herods of their own
day. But there, in Bethlehem, was a promise of newness, of gratuity,” he
said.
Thousands of people were gathered in St Peter’s Basilica as the Pope
entered to the sounds of the choir singing “Angels we have heard on
high” in Latin. Before taking his place in front of the altar, the Pope
stood in front of a statue of baby Jesus, spending several minutes in
veneration before kissing it.
The Pope said that the Magi adoring the newborn king highlight two specific actions: seeing and worshipping.
Seeing the star of Bethlehem did not prompt them to embark on their
journey but rather, “they saw the star because they had already set
out,” he said.
“Their hearts were open to the horizon and they could see what the
heavens were showing them, for they were guided by an inner
restlessness. They were open to something new,” the Pope said.
This restlessness, he continued, awakens a longing for God that
exists in the hearts of all believers who know “that the Gospel is not
an event of the past but of the present.”
It is holy longing for God “that helps us keep alert in the face of
every attempt to reduce and impoverish our life. A holy longing for God
is the memory of faith, which rebels before all prophets of doom,” the
Pope said.
Recalling the biblical figures of Simeon, the prodigal son, and Mary
Magdalene, the Pope said this longing for God “draws us out of our
iron-clad isolation, which makes us think that nothing can change”, and
helps us seek Christ.
However, the figure of King Herod presents a different attitude of
bewilderment and fear that, when confronted with something new, “closes
in on itself and its own achievements, its knowledge, its successes”.
The quest of the Magi led them first to Herod’s palace that, although
it befits the birth of king, is only a sign of “power, outward
appearances and superiority. Idols that promise only sorrow and
enslavement,” he said.
“There, in the palace, they did not see the star guiding them to
discover a God who wants to be loved. For only under the banner of
freedom, not tyranny, is it possible to realise that the gaze of this
unknown but desired king does not abase, enslave, or imprison us,” the
Pope said.
People
in traditional attire endure cold weather during the annual parade
marking the feast of the Epiphany in St Peter’s Square (CNS photo/Paul
Haring)
Unlike the Magi, the Pope added, Herod is unable to worship the
newborn king because he was unwilling to change his way of thinking and
“did not want to stop worshipping himself, believing that everything
revolved around him”.
Christians are called to imitate the wise men who, “weary of the
Herods of their own day,” set out in search of the promise of something
new.
“The Magi were able to worship, because they had the courage to set
out. And as they fell to their knees before the small, poor and
vulnerable infant, the unexpected and unknown child of Bethlehem, they
discovered the glory of God,” the Pope said.
After the Mass, Pope Francis greeted tens of thousands of people
gathered in St Peter’s Square to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany.
A colourful parade led by the sounds of trumpets and drums, people
dressed in traditional and festive clothing contributed to the cheerful
atmosphere despite the chilly weather.
Explaining the significance of the Wise Men who presented their gifts
to Christ after adoring him, the Pope gave the crowds a gift: a small
booklet of reflections on mercy.
The book, entitled “Icons of Mercy”, presents “six Gospel episodes
that recall the experience of people transformed by Jesus’s love: the
sinful woman, Zacchaeus, Matthew, the publican, the Samaritan, the good
thief and the apostle Peter. Six icons of mercy,” the papal almoner’s
office said.
Together with the homeless, poor men and women and refugees,
religious men and women distributed the books to the crowd. As a thank
you, Pope also offered more than 300 homeless men and women sandwiches
and drinks.
....
Taken from: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/01/06/the-magi-embody-all-those-who-long-for-god-says-pope-francis/
