VATICAN - The Pope celebrates Mass in the Parish of San Lorenzo, on the 1,750th anniversary of his martyrdom: “holiness, namely, going out to meet Christ who comes continually to visit us, does not go out of fashion”

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - “At this beginning of Advent, what better message to receive from Saint Lawrence than that of holiness? He repeats to us that holiness, namely, going out to meet Christ who comes continually to visit us, does not go out of fashion, on the contrary, with the passing of time it shines in a luminous way and manifests man's constant tension toward God. May this jubilee celebration be, therefore, occasion for your parish community of a renewed adherence to Christ, of greater understanding of the meaning of belonging to his Mystical Body that is the Church, and of a constant commitment to evangelization through charity.” This was the exhortation made by the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the faithful gathered in the Parish Church of San Lorenzo “fuori le Mura” (Outside the Walls), where he celebrated Mass on Sunday, November 30, First Sunday of Advent, in honor of the 1,750th anniversary of the martyrdom of San Lorenzo and as part of his annual visits to the parishes of Rome.
“To prepare for Christ's advent is also the exhortation we find in today's Gospel: "Watch," Jesus says to us in Luke's brief parable of the master of the house who goes but whose return is not known. To watch means to follow the Lord, to choose what he has chosen, to love what he has loved, to conform one's own life to his; to watch means to spend every moment of our time on the horizon of his love without letting ourselves be overcome by the inevitable daily difficulties and problems. So did St. Lawrence, so must we; and we ask the Lord to give us his grace so that Advent will stimulate all of us to walk in that direction.”
In his homily, the Holy Father reflected on the liturgical season of Advent, which means “to recall the first coming of the Lord in the flesh, already thinking of his final return and, at the same time, it means to acknowledge that Christ present among us makes himself our companion on the journey in the life of the Church that celebrates this mystery.” Advent becomes for all Christians, “a time of waiting and hope, a privileged time of listening and reflection, allowing ourselves to be guided by the liturgy that calls us to go out to meet the Lord who is coming.” Taking up the readings proclaimed shortly prior to the homily, the Pope focused on the invocation made by the Christian community from the beginning - “Come, Lord Jesus” - which should become “also our constant aspiration, the aspiration of the Church of every age, which longs and prepares for the encounter with its Lord.” The prophet Isaiah, in the first reading, later reveals that “our Savior's face is that of a tender and merciful Father, who takes care of us in every circumstance because we are the work of his hands...We were estranged from him because of sin, falling under the dominion of death, but he had mercy on us and by his initiative, without any merit on our part, decided to come to us, sending his only Son as our Redeemer.”
In his homily, Benedict XVI also recalled the reason for his visit, the 1,750th anniversary of the entrance of the holy Deacon, Saint Lawrence, into heaven: “His solicitude for the poor, his generous service to the Church in the area of social welfare and charity, his fidelity to the Pope, which led him to want to follow him to the supreme test of martyrdom and the heroic testimony of his blood, spilt a few days later, are universally known events.”
The 50th anniversary of the death of the Servant of God Pope Pius XII also brings to mind a particularly dramatic event that occurred during World War II, on July 19, 1943, when a violent bombardment inflicted very serious damages to the building and the whole neighborhood, spreading death and destruction. “Never will the memory be erased from history of the generous gesture carried out on that occasion by my venerated predecessor, who ran to help and console the harshly affected people, among the still smoking ruins. Nor do I forget that this basilica houses the urns of two other great personalities: exposed in the hypogeum for the veneration of the faithful are the mortal remains of Blessed Pius IX, while in the atrium the tomb is located of Alcide De Gasperi, wise and balanced leader for Italy during the difficult years of post-war reconstruction and, at the same time, famous statesman who was able to look at Europe with a broad Christian vision.”
At the close of the Mass, the Holy Father paid homage to the tomb of Saint Lawrence. Later, in the crypt, he stopped to pray before the tomb of Blessed Pius IX and, in the atrium of the Basilica, he paused before the tomb of Alcide De Gasperi. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 1/12/2008)