Luke 2:29-32 KJV
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy
word: (30) For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
(31) Which thou hast prepared
before the face of all people; (32) A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the
glory of thy people Israel.
Official
Vatican text of Pope Francis' Christmas 'Urbi et Orbi' message
http://j.mp/0X14UrbiText
or http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/12/25/official-vatican-text-f-pope-francis-christmas-urbi-et-orbi-message/
VATICAN CITY –
Here is the official Vatican English-language translation of Pope
Francis' "Urbi et Orbi' Christmas Day message, which he delivered in
Italian from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday:
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Christmas!
Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the world,
is born for us, born in Bethlehem of a Virgin, fulfilling the ancient
prophecies. The Virgin's name is Mary, the wife of Joseph.
Humble people, full of hope in the goodness of
God, are those who welcome Jesus and recognize him. And so the Holy Spirit
enlightened the shepherds of Bethlehem, who hastened to the grotto and adored
the Child. Then the Spirit led the elderly and humble couple Simeon and Anna
into the temple of Jerusalem, and they recognized in Jesus the Messiah.
"My eyes have seen your salvation", Simeon exclaimed, "the
salvation prepared by God in the sight of all peoples" (Lk 2:30).
Yes, brothers and sisters, Jesus is the
salvation for every person and for every people! Today I ask him, the Savior of
the world, to look upon our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria, who for too
long now have suffered the effects of ongoing conflict, and who, together with
those belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, are suffering a brutal
persecution. May Christmas bring them hope, as indeed also to the many
displaced persons, exiles and refugees, children, adults and elderly, from this
region and from the whole world. May indifference be changed into closeness and
rejection into hospitality, so that all who now are suffering may receive the
necessary humanitarian help to overcome the rigors of winter, return to their
countries and live with dignity.
May the Lord open hearts to trust, and may he
bestow his peace upon the whole Middle East, beginning with the land blessed by
his birth, thereby sustaining the efforts of those committed effectively to
dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.
May Jesus, Savior of the world, protect all who
suffer in Ukraine, and grant that their beloved land may overcome tensions,
conquer hatred and violence, and set out on a new journey of fraternity and
reconciliation.
May Christ the Savior give peace to Nigeria,
where (even in these hours) more blood is being shed and too many people are
unjustly deprived of their possessions, held as hostages or killed. I invoke
peace also on the other parts of the African continent, thinking especially of
Libya, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and various regions of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. I beseech all who have political
responsibility to commit themselves through dialogue to overcoming differences
and to building a lasting, fraternal coexistence.
May Jesus save the vast numbers of children who
are victims of violence, made objects of trade and trafficking, or forced to
become soldiers; children, so many abused children. May he give comfort to the
families of the children killed in Pakistan last week. May he be close to all
who suffer from illness, especially the victims of the Ebola epidemic, above
all in Liberia, in Sierra Leone and in Guinea. As I thank all who are
courageously dedicated to assisting the sick and their family members, I once
more make an urgent appeal that the necessary assistance and treatment be
provided.
The Child Jesus. My thoughts turn to all those
children today who are killed and ill-treated, be they infants killed in the
womb, deprived of that generous love of their parents and then buried in the
egoism of a culture that does not love life; be they children displaced due to
war and persecution, abused and taken advantage of before our very eyes and our
complicit silence.
I think also of those infants massacred in bomb
attacks, also those where the Son of God was born. Even today, their impotent
silence cries out under the sword of so many Herods. On their blood stands the
shadow of contemporary Herods.
Truly there are so many tears this Christmas,
together with the tears of the Infant Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters, may the Holy Spirit
today enlighten our hearts, that we may recognize in the Infant Jesus, born in
Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, the salvation given by God to each one of us, to
each man and woman and to all the peoples of the earth.
May the power of Christ, which brings freedom
and service, be felt in so many hearts afflicted by war, persecution and
slavery. May this divine power, by its meekness, take away the hardness of
heart of so many men and women immersed in worldliness and indifference, the
globalization of indifference. May his redeeming strength transform arms into
ploughshares, destruction into creativity, hatred into love and tenderness.
Then we will be able to cry out with joy:
"Our eyes have seen your salvation".
With these thoughts I wish you all a Happy
Christmas!
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I2C 141226aa Luk2v29to42 X14 Francis Urbi | I2C
| 1412 | Luk2v29to42 X14 Francis Urbi
