VATICAN CITY — “Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world,” Pope Francis said Dec. 24 during his homily for Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The pope reflected on Jesus’ birth occurring after Caesar decreed a census in which “the whole world should be enrolled,” as recounted in St. Luke’s Gospel. The census, he said, “manifests the all-too-human thread that runs through history: the quest for worldly power and might, fame and glory, which measures everything in terms of success, results, numbers and figures, a world obsessed with achievement.”
By becoming human, however, Jesus chooses the way of “littleness.” At Christmas, Pope Francis encouraged Christians to shun the image of a mighty and lofty God, “because there is always a risk that we can celebrate Christmas while thinking of God in pagan terms, as a powerful potentate in the sky; a god linked to power, worldly success and the idolatry of consumerism.”
Providence seminarians Mateusz Puzanowski and Nathan Ledoux, pictured, offered a sincere “Buon Natale” from the city of Rome after having the privilege of serving Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over by Pope Francis. The seminarians who are studying at the Pontifical North American College were also able to attend the Urbi et Orbi blessing in the afternoon.
