Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Archbishop of Moscow: God can do anything, let's allow Him renew our lives

An invitation to let God into our lives, to give us a fresh start. This is the message from the Archbishop of the Mother of God, Msgr. Paolo Pezzi, sent to the entire Catholic community in Moscow, religious and secular, at Christmas.

"He who calls you is faithful" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). He begins with the words of the Apostle Paul's which reminds us that "God can do anything", as explained by the angel to Mary at the Annunciation. "Even when we are not faithful, He waits, respecting our freedom - we read in the text released by the press service of the Archdiocese - God takes the initiative and comes to us, inviting us to respond with faith ".
"The new man that God has awakened, coming into the world - continues Msgr. Pezzi - is a man for whom this statement is the center of his life: 'God can do anything.'" "This means that the God we are talking about - he says - is not a God of our imagining, but a living God, who became man in Jesus." The words of the angel to the Virgin - he adds - become the beginning of a new asceticism, of a new perspective and a new sense of self  for Man. "


"The first word, the first step, the authentic initiative - says the prelate - always come from God. Only by accepting this initiative, can we too become part of authentic witnesses of communion with God. Only those who allow God to improve them, will be able to meet the challenges of this world, that argues we can live without God. "
The Archbishop stresses the essential meaning of Christmas: "God has entered into human history in the most unexpected and unimaginable way. He became a child and traveled the path of the human being. Himself has become the path, through which man can reach God". Citing Benedict XVI he says that "God, in Jesus of Nazareth, accepts man and his entire history, and gives us a new beginning."

"He who loves you is faithful - repeats Msgr. Pezzi, who this evening will celebrate Christmas Mass at the Catholic Cathedral in Moscow, where up to 5 thousand faithful are expected -let this consoling truth accompany each one of you, beloved children of God on the path of life."

The hope is that "the peace and joy of Christmas Eve come into our homes, filling them with the joy of faith, with mutual brotherly love and the peace of profound hope."