VATICAN/ANGELUS - Pope Francis: “No child is a mistake”, “let us learn to experience wonder and gratitude before the mystery of the life that is born”

Sunday, 22 December 2024 pope francis children angelus

VATICAN

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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Let us learn to “experience wonder and gratitude before the mystery of the life that is born” because “no child is a mistake”. This was the central message of Pope Francis during the Angelus this morning. Although he did not address the faithful from St. Peter's Square, the Pontiff spoke to them from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta due to “the symptoms of a cold and the intense cold of these days”.

“I am sorry not to be in the Square with you, but I am getting better and precautions must be taken”, the Pontiff began by saying, addressing the numerous boys and girls who flocked to the Vatican Basilica to receive the blessing of the Baby Jesus that they will place in the Nativity scene (a tradition started by Paul VI in 1969).

And it was precisely around the Baby Jesus that Pope Francis wove his brief catechesis before reciting the Marian prayer.

Commenting on today's Gospel passage, which tells of the meeting between Mary and Elizabeth, both expecting a child, the Pope pointed out how the two cousins "have much to rejoice about, and perhaps we might feel they are far away, the protagonists of such great miracles that do not normally figure in our experience. The message the Evangelist wants to give us, a few days before Christmas, is this, it is different. Indeed, contemplating the miraculous signs of God’s salvific action must never make us feel far from Him, but rather help us to recognize His presence and His love close to you, for example in the gift of every life, of every child, of his or her mother."

"Let us not remain indifferent to their presence of pregnant women "let us learn to marvel at their beauty, as Elizabeth and Mary did, that beauty of expectant mothers. Let us bless mothers and give praise to God for the miracle of life."

Pope Francis, speaking candidly, also recalled that when he was bishop of Buenos Aires, “I used to like when an expectant mother got on the bus, I would immediately offer her my seat: it is a gesture of hope and respect!”

In the images of the chapel of Santa Marta, on the table in front of the Pontiff, his statuette of the Child Jesus was seen: “we will soon bless the “Bambinelli” you have brought. I have brought mine: this one was given to me by the Archbishop of Santa Fé; it was made by native Ecuadorian people… the Bambinelli you have brought. We can ask ourselves, then, do I thank the Lord because He made Himself a man like us, to share in all of our existence, apart from sin? Do I praise the Lord and bless Him for every child who is born? When I encounter an expectant mother, am I kind to her? Do I support and defend the sacred value of the life of the little ones ever since their conception in the maternal womb?”

After these considerations, and before reciting the Angelus, the Pope invoked the help of the Virgin Mary so that “she may make us capable of experiencing wonder and gratitude before the mystery of the life that is born.”

As always, after the blessing, Pope Francis' thoughts turned to the scenes of war and conflict that tear the world apart: “I always follow with attention and concern the news from Mozambique, and I wish to reiterate my message of hope, peace and reconciliation to that beloved people. I pray that dialogue and the quest for the common good, supported by faith and good will, may prevail over mistrust and discord.”

The Pontiff then recalled “the tormented Ukraine continues to be struck by attacks against the city, which at times damage schools, hospitals, and churches. May the weapons be silenced and Christmas carols resound! Let us pray for a ceasefire on all war fronts, in Ukraine, the Holy Land, in all the Middle East and the entire world, at Christmas. And with sorrow I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty; of the children machine-gunned, the bombing of schools and hospitals... So much cruelty!”. (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 22/12/2024)