In the frenetic activity of
today, Advent, the time of waiting for Christmas, "gifts us a little
clam and joy" for the "surprise" of God who became a child "to save us
and give new courage and new light to our journey."
His arrival "will
not find us unprepared.
The care we put into brightening our streets and
our homes", we should also take in purifying our consciousness and our
lives of all that is contrary to this coming: thoughts, words, attitudes
and actions, urging ourselves to do good and to contribute and realise
peace and justice for every man in our world and in this way walk
towards the Lord".
This was the invitation and the wish
that Benedict XVI expressed today to Christians during his last general
audience before Christmas.
To five thousand people gathered in the Paul VI at the Vatican,
the Pope spoke of Advent, when we prepare ourselves to "accept openly
and with gratitude the great event of the coming of the Lord and
contemplate the descent of God in the world."
"All human life is
animated by this feeling, that what is most true, beautiful and great
can come to us and in front of our eyes become concrete."
The Pope then recalled that in the coming of Jesus, St. Irenaeus sees "
God who calls man forth into His own likeness.
We must imitate him, God has given Himself into our hands, we must
imitate God. "
"Man - said Benedict XVI - can not see God, but he can
see Jesus and thus sees God, in this way he begins to see the truth and
thus to live”.
In this way he "can see God in the face of
Christ" , who "after the disobedience of Adam and Eve embraces us."
Irenaeus said the Pope, says that God "became son of man to accustom man
to perceive God and dares to say that even God must become accustomed
to us, to our poverty and weakness."
The coming of Jesus "can have no other purpose than to teach us
to see and love events, the world and everything around us, with the
same eyes of God.
The Word made child helps us to
understand God’s actions, so that we are able to allow ourselves be
increasingly transformed by his goodness and his infinite mercy".
The Pope finally spoke of the Nativity Scene, which "represents
the beauty of God who became man" and is "an expression of our
waiting," but also our "thanks to He who has decided to share our human
condition, in poverty and simplicity. I am delighted - he concluded –
that it is still alive and, indeed, that we have rediscovered the
tradition of preparing Nativity scenes in our homes, workplaces, places
of meeting. This authentic witness of Christian faith can offer all men
of good will today a striking image of the infinite love of the Father
for us all. It can still provoke wonder in the hearts of children and
adults”.
SIC: AN/INT'L