Christmas tree already in St. Peter's SquareThe Papa has congratulated the cardinals and superiors of the Roman Curia this morning in an audience in the Hall of Benediction of the Vatican Apostolic Palace.
In its speechFrancis affirmed that "the Mystery of Christmas moves our hearts to wonder at an unexpected announcement: God is coming, God is here, in our midst, and his light has broken forever into the darkness of the world. We need always to hear and receive this announcement, especially in a time still sadly marked by the violence of war, the tremendous risks to which we are exposed due to climate change, poverty, suffering, hunger and other wounds that inhabit our history".
The Pope then focused on analyzing three verbs through different Gospel characters: listen, discern and walk.
Listen to
Francis gave the example of listening to the Virgin Mary. "To listen, in fact, is a biblical verb that does not refer only to hearing, but implies the participation of the heart and, therefore, of life itself. [...]. Listening with the heart is much more than hearing a message or exchanging information; it is an inner listening capable of understanding the desires and needs of the other, a relationship that invites us to overcome the schemas and prejudices in which we sometimes frame the lives of those around us. Listening is always the beginning of a journey. The Lord asks of his people this listening of the heart, a relationship with him, who is the living God.
The Pope drew a parallel between this type of listening and that which must take place in the Roman Curia: "In the Curia, too, it is necessary to learn the art of listening. Before our daily duties and activities, but above all before the roles we play, we need to rediscover the value of relationships, and try to strip them of formalisms, to animate them with an evangelical spirit, first of all by listening to one another".
Discern
As an example of discernment, Francis cited St. John the Baptist. "Discernment is important for all of us, that art of the spiritual life that strips us of the pretension of already knowing everything, of the risk of thinking that it is enough to apply the rules, of the temptation to proceed, even in the life of the Curia, by simply repeating schemes, without considering that the Mystery of God always surpasses us and that the life of people and the reality that surrounds us are and always remain superior to ideas and theories."
Walking
Finally, as an example of "walking", the Pope mentioned the Magi. "They remind us of the importance of walking. The joy of the Gospel, when we truly accept it, unleashes in us the movement of following, which provokes a true exodus from ourselves and sets us on the way towards an encounter with the Lord and towards the fullness of life. [When God calls, he always sets us on the way, as he did with Abraham, with Moses, with the prophets and with all the Lord's disciples.
As in previous cases, Francis has pointed out how this should apply to the curia: "Also in the service here in the curia it is important to remain on the way, not to stop seeking and deepening in the truth, overcoming the temptation to remain paralyzed and to 'labyrinth ourselves' within our enclosures and fears. [When our service runs the risk of becoming flattened, of 'labyrinthine' in rigidity or mediocrity, when we find ourselves entangled in the nets of bureaucracy and 'getting by', let us remember to look upwards, to start again from God, to allow ourselves to be enlightened by his Word, to always find the courage to begin again".
"Let us always remain on the way, with humility and admiration, so that we do not fall into the presumption of feeling satisfied and so that the desire for God is not extinguished in us. And thanks above all for the work done in silence. Listening, discerning, walking," the Pope concluded.
