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It has been a tradition since the time of Paul VI. Every third Sunday of Advent, the children bring the figures of the baby Jesus to St. Peter’s Square for the Pope’s blessing. This year, this endearing event was not missed.
POPE FRANCISCO
Few of you are here this year because of the pandemic. Still, I know that many children and young people have gathered in youth centers and their homes and are following us through the media. I greet everyone and bless the Jesus figurines, which will be placed in the nativity scene, a sign of hope and joy. In silence, let us bless the figurines of the Child Jesus: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Pope Francis said that the arrival of Jesus is good news. Therefore, Christians should not be sad.
POPE FRANCISCO
Think well today: how do I behave? Am I a happy person who knows how to convey the joy of being a Christian, or am I always like those sad people, as I said before, who seem to be at a funeral? If I do not have the joy of my faith, I cannot bear witness, and others will say: “But if faith is so sad, it is better not to have it.”
The Pope gave the recipe for that joy: not thinking about oneself and imitating saints like John the Baptist.
POPE FRANCISCO
This is joy: turning to Jesus. Joy must be the characteristic of our faith. In dark moments, that inner joy, of knowing that the Lord is with me, that the Lord is with us, that the Lord has risen. The Lord! The Lord! The Lord! This is the center of our life.
The Pope recommended following the example of the saints, who did not seek personal fame but to lead people to Christ.
Javier Romero
Translation: Christian Campos
