Although he is on the mend, his voice is still weak, so on the first Sunday of Advent, Pope Francis again recited the Angelus' prayer and gave his blessing from St. Martha's House.

In his reflection, the Pope urged us, like a sentinel, not to give in to the temptation of fatigue, but to stay awake, watchful with prayer and love for the coming light, our Lord, who is our light. Let us prepare for the coming of Jesus, recognizing his presence in our brothers and sisters, especially in those most in need.

Jesus' exhortation also speaks to us: "Keep awake".

In the short gospel section of the first Sunday of Advent, Jesus turns to us three times with a simple and direct exhortation: "Keep awake" (Mk 13:33-37) - the Pope referred to the theme of the beginning of the new church year, which is vigilance. How should we interpret this? he asked, then stated: Sometimes we think of this virtue as behavior motivated by fear of imminent punishment, like a meteorite falling from the sky threatening to destroy us if we don't step aside in time us. But this is certainly not the meaning of Christian vigilance - stated the Holy Father in his reflection, according to whom the vigilance of servants does not stem from fear, but from love for their masters

Jesus illustrates this with a parable about a householder who returns from his journey and his servants who are waiting for him. In the Bible, the servant is the "trusted man" of the master, with whom there is often a cooperative and loving relationship - the Pope pointed out, mentioning as an example Moses, who is called God's servant in the Book of Numbers (cf. Numbers 12.7), and then hinted that Mary also says about herself: "I am the handmaid of the Lord" (Lk 1:38).

So the vigilance of servants does not come from fear, but from longing, they are waiting to meet their master who is coming.

They are ready for the return of the host, because they love him, because they prepare that when he arrives, a friendly and orderly home will await him: they are glad to see him again, so much so that they look forward to his return as a holiday for the whole large family of which they are are part of.

With this loving expectation, we also want to prepare to receive Jesus: at Christmas, which we celebrate in a few weeks; at the end of time, when he will return in glory; every day, as he comes to us to meet us in the Blessed Sacrament, in his Word, in our brothers and sisters, especially in those most in need, the Holy Father explained in his catechesis.

He encouraged us to prepare the house of our hearts with special care during these weeks, so that it is orderly and hospitable.

Keeping vigil really means keeping our hearts ready. This is the attitude of the watchman who does not give in to the temptation of fatigue at night, does not fall asleep, but stays awake and waits for the coming light. The Lord is our light, and it is good to prepare our hearts to receive Him with prayer and to see Him as a guest with love, these two preparations are necessary for our Lord to feel comfortable.

According to the Holy Father, it is a "good Advent program" to meet Jesus, who is present in all our brothers and sisters who need us, and to share with them what we know: listening, time, concrete help.

Today, it is good for us to ask ourselves how we can prepare a receptive heart for the Lord - continued Pope Francis in his catechesis, indicating the way to do this: we can do this by approaching His Forgiveness, His Word, His Table, finding a place for prayer, accepting Him in those in need. Let us cherish our waiting for the Lord, without being distracted by many useless things and without constantly complaining, but keeping our hearts awake, i.e. longing for Him, alert and ready, impatiently waiting to meet him - the Pope exhorted, and then the made the following petition to the Virgin:

"Virgin Mary, woman of waiting, help us to receive your Son who is coming".

The Holy Father called it painful that the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip had ended, and at the same time he spoke in favor of the implementation of another ceasefire as soon as possible.

The Pope expressed his pain and called it serious that the cease-fire between the Israelis and Palestinians was broken. "This means death, destruction and misery," said Pope Francis, who called for the release of the Israeli hostages and help for the Gaza population. I hope that all those involved in this can conclude a new agreement on the ceasefire as soon as possible, said the Pope.

He reminded that he could not personally participate in the UN climate conference in Dubai, but he is following it closely. Climate change requires concrete political changes - emphasized the papal speech.

On the first Sunday of Advent, the giant pine already stands in the middle of Szent Péter square.

The twenty-seven-meter-tall, 56-year-old tree came this year from the northwestern province of Piedmont, from the Macra area near Cuneo. This is the first time that the Vatican Christmas tree is a gift to this region, and it is special that it is a small settlement with only 46 inhabitants. Eight years ago, the province applied to deliver pine trees to Szent Péter Square. The giant tree arrived in trucks and will be recycled after the Epiphany.

Seven thousand decorations reminiscent of alpine stars will be placed on the tree, which will create the illusion of snowfall by encasing the branches.

They are also building the nativity scene, which this year is a donation from the Diocese of Rieti in central Italy.

Eight hundred years ago, Saint Francis of Assisi, after returning from the Holy Land in 1223, reenacted the scene of the birth of Jesus with people for the first time in Greccio, near Rieti. Since then, the tradition of the Nativity scene in Italy has spread.

The lights on the tree will be switched on on December 9, and from then on the nativity scene will be visible, where the statue of the baby Jesus will be placed in the manger on Christmas Eve. At the same time, the Nativity exhibition will be opened in Szent Péter Square, where Hungary is also a permanent guest.

Prior to this, December 8th will be the red-letter holiday of the Immaculate Conception, on which the Pope usually visits the statue of the Virgin Mary in the center of Rome, at the Spanish Steps.

Vatican News
MTI

Cover image: Pope Francis
Source: YouTube