Francis of Assisi and which, in its simplicity, transmits an atmosphere of hope in which the characters are immersed. The Holy Father went on to note that many Christians, during the time of Advent, prepare a Nativity display in their homes, a tradition that dates back to St. And here we can pose ourselves the question, each one of us: do I walk with hope or is my inner life static and closed? Is my heart a closed drawer or is it a drawer open to hope that ensures I walk not alone, but with Jesus?”
“That is, journeying in this world, with hope, we are saved. Paul summarises all this in the expression, ‘For in this hope we were saved’”. This hope, that the Child of Bethlehem gives us, offers an objective, a good destiny for the present, the salvation of humanity, blessedness to those who trust in merciful God. Hope is never still, hope is always in motion and enables us to walk on. So, for a Christian to hope means the certainty of journeying with Christ towards the Father Who awaits us. He enters the world and gives us the strength to journey with Him: God walks with us in Jesus, and walking with Him towards the fullness of life gives us the strength to stay in a new way in the present, even if it is burdensome. But the Nativity of Christ, ushering redemption, speaks to us of a different hope, a hope that is reliable, visible and comprehensible, as it is rooted in God. Indeed, what we hope goes beyond our strength and our view. “When we speak about hope, often we refer to what is not in man’s power and is not visible. In this way, God shows His faithfulness and establishes a new Kingdom, which gives new hope to humanity.
“The same Isaiah had preannounced the birth of the Messiah: “Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”, and “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit”, he said, citing the words of the prophet Isaiah, who has guided the catechesis of recent weeks, and which “reflect the meaning of Christmas: God fulfils His promise, making Himself man He does not abandon His people, He draws near to them to the point of divesting Himself of His divinity. In the last general audience before Christmas, Pope Francis dedicated his catechesis to the moment in which hope entered the world, with the Incarnation of the Son of God.
0 kommentar(er)
