At the Angelus the Pope “Too often God knocks at our door but we are so caught up in our thoughts and concerns we do not even notice.”
“If you feel this wish to be better, it is He who is knocking. Don’t let him pass you by! Let us open our doors to Christ,” Francis urged faithful speaking off the cuff at the Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square which is now graced by a huge Christmas tree and Nativity Scene.
“Christ knocks at our door,” he “comes into our lives” and at Christmas, as well as every other day, we must “free” ourselves “ from all worldliness, ready to receive the Lord, the God-for-us." “Too often Jesus passes by in our lives, he sends an angel and we are so caught up in our thoughts and concerns we do not even notice that there is someone at our door asking to come in and asking for a ‘yes’ like Mary’s.”
“The precious gift of Christmas is peace, and Christ is our true peace. And Christ knocks at our hearts to give us peace of mind. We open the doors to Christ! We entrust ourselves to the intercession of our Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, to live a truly Christian Christmas, free from all worldliness, ready to receive the Lord, the God-for-us." This was Francis’ wish.
On the fourth and last Sunday of Advent "the liturgy is meant to prepare us for the upcoming Christmas by inviting us to meditate the angel's annunciation to Mary,” Francis said. “Gabriel – which means “strength of God” - told the Virgin about the Lord's will that she will become the mother of his only Son: 'Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High'.” “Let us set our gaze on this simple girl from Nazareth at the moment when she made herself available for the divine message with her 'yes'. Let us come to understand two essential aspects in her attitude, which is our model on how to prepare for Christmas."
"First of all [we have] her faith, her attitude of faith, which consists in listening to God's Word in order to give herself over to this Word with full openness of mind and heart. In her response to the angel, Mary said, 'Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word'' . In her 'I am' full of faith, Mary does not know on which roads she will venture, what pain she will suffer, or what risks she will face. Yet, she is aware that the Lord will ask her, and that she has total trust in Him and surrenders to his love.”
Another aspect, Francis highlighted, "is the capacity of Christ's Mother to recognise God's time. Mary is the one who made possible the incarnation of the Son of God, 'the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages' (Rom, 16:25). She made possible the incarnation of the Word precisely because of her humble and courageous 'yes'. Mary teaches us to seize the favourable moment when Jesus comes into our lives and calls for a speedy and generous response.”
“In fact, the mystery of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, which historically occurred more than two thousand years ago, is implemented as a spiritual event, in the here and now of the Liturgy. The Word, who found a home in Mary's virginal womb, comes knocking again at the heart of every Christian in the celebration of Christmas. Each of us is called to answer, like Mary, with a personal and sincere 'yes', putting ourselves fully at God's disposal and mercy."
“In the mystery of Christmas, Francis underlined, "Saint Joseph's silent presence is next to Mary, as can be seen in every crèche. You can see it in the one here in St Peter's Square. The example of Mary and Joseph is for all of us an invitation to accept with total openness of mind Jesus, who became our brother out of love. He came to bring the gift of peace to the world: 'on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests' (Lk 2: 14), as the choir of angels announced to the shepherds. The precious gift of Christmas is peace, and Christ is our true peace.”
“A saint used to say, 'I fear that the Lord will pass by'. Do you know why he was afraid? He was afraid that he would not notice him and would let him pass by. In our heart, we would like to be better people: this is the Lord knocking, which makes you want to be better and closer to God. If you feel this, stop, it is the Lord. Then go to pray, perhaps go to confession, that will do you good. But remember, if you feel like improving, he is the one coming by. Do not let him pass you by!"
After the Angelus Francis greeted the crowd, wishing everyone a “peaceful” Christmas and encouraging people to keep their “doors open” to see “the Lord passing by”.
The Pope ended the Angelus with his usual request for people to pray for him, wishing everyone an enjoyable lunch and bidding them goodbye.
