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Pope Francis said today that 2021 will be “a good year” if people take care of each other and stressed that, in addition to a vaccine against the coronavirus, the world needs a “vaccine for the heart.”
“It is not good to meet many people and many things if we do not take care of them. This year, while we wait for recovery and new treatments, let us not neglect the care. Because, in addition to the vaccine for the body, we need the vaccine for the heart, which is be careful. It will be a good year if we take care of others, “he said.
The Pope’s words were read in a homily by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, during the New Year’s Mass, dedicated to the “Solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of God”, which was celebrated today in the Vatican.
Pope Francis was unable to preside over this Mass and also the eve of December 31, 2020, due to sciatica, according to the spokesman for the Holy See, Matteo Bruni.
However, Jorge Bergoglio left the written homily so that Cardinal Parolin could read his words to the few participants and the media that might be in St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, due to preventive measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. .
The mass was celebrated without the faithful and in an empty basilica.
The Pope emphasized three words – blessing, birth and encounter – and highlighted the role of the Virgin Mary, on this day in which the Catholic Church also celebrates the 54th World Day of Peace, this year under the motto “Culture of care as a way to peace “.
“We are not in the world to die, but to generate life,” the Pope said, adding: “The first step to give life to those around us is to love it within ourselves.
He stressed the importance of “educating the heart to care, to value people and things”, so that societies take care of others and the world.
He considered that “the world is seriously contaminated by saying bad things and thinking badly of others, of society, of themselves”, and assured that “the curse corrupts, degenerates everything” and that “the blessing regenerates, gives strength to begin again”. “.
At the end of the homily, Francis asked himself what people should find in early 2021 and replied: “It would be good to find time for someone. Time is a wealth that we all have, but of which we are jealous, because we want to use it only to U.S “.
Thus, he encouraged people to dedicate moments to others, especially “those who are alone, those who suffer, those who need to be listened to and cared for.”
The Vatican’s Christmas celebrations calendar continues on January 6 with the Lord’s Epiphany Mass.
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