The last time the last Sunday of Advent coincided on the day before Christmas was in 2017, and the next will be in 2028, according to the Vatican agency. Today, in 2023, the IV Sunday of Advent takes place on the eve of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the 25th, as this very evening the Pope at St. Peter'sIn the same way as in so many other places in the world, the Mass of the Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord is celebrated.
In the Angelus Sunday, in his brief meditation to the Romans and pilgrims on the gospel Pope Francis has focused in a special way on the words of the angel: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you".
"The shadow is a gift that restores," the Pope said. "It is God's way of acting. God always acts in a gentle, embracing, fruitful and caring way, without doing violence, without wounding freedom (...). "The shadow that protects is a recurring image in the Bible." "The shadow speaks of God's gentleness. It is as if He were saying to Mary, but also to us: Come, today I am here for you, and I offer myself as your refuge and shelter. Come under my shadow, stay with me!".
In this ChristmasAs we treat relatives and friends, if we know of someone who is lonely, the Pope asked if we can be "a shade that repairs, a friendship that consoles," for people who are lonely and in need.
The Pontiff invited in his reflection that we attend to others "in a delicate and discreet way: listening, accompanying, visiting, making ourselves also for others "shadow of the Most High", and suggested as a test: do I want to let myself be enveloped by the shadow of the Spirit, by the gentleness and meekness of God, making room for Him in my heart, approaching His forgiveness, the Eucharist?"
"May Mary help us to be open and welcoming to the presence of God, who with meekness comes to save us," the Pope concluded.
Sobriety, no to consumerism
After praying the Marian prayer of the Angelus, Francis recalled that the feast is not consumerism, and it is not necessary to spend more than necessary, but to live in sobriety. He also encouraged us to be close to those who are disadvantaged, whether economically or because of loneliness, and to those who suffer because of the warsciting in particular Palestine and Israeland the tormented Ukraine.
The Pope also recalled those who suffer from misery, hunger and slavery. "God, who has taken the human heart, infuse humanity in the hearts of men," prayed Pope Francis, before asking for prayers for him, as he always does.
