During yesterday’s Angelus meditation in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis took advantage of the Gospel reading of the day to meditate on Advent and the coming of the Lord.
Newsroom (14/12/2021 16:00, Gaudium Press) “What shall we do?” (Lk 3:10), asked the Baptist. ‘What shall we do?’ we can also ask ourselves about the coming of the Child God to the cave of Bethlehem.
A heart touched by the Lord’s presence
This question springs from a “heart touched by the Lord, excited by His coming and which leads us to say: what shall we do?” When a loved one comes to visit us, we wait for him “with joy and impatience” and we prepare ourselves. “So it is with the Lord,” the Pope said, “joy at His coming makes us say: what should we do?”
But also, the Pontiff said, “God raises this question to a higher level: what should I do with my life? To what am I called? What fulfills me?” And the answer – he said – is in the Gospel.
“Life has a mission for us. It is not meaningless, it is not left to chance. No! It is a gift that the Lord gives us, telling us: discover who you are and work to fulfil the dream that is your life! “
“Each one of us – let us not forget – has a mission to be accomplished. Therefore, let us not be afraid to ask the Lord: what must I do?” Francis insisted.
“The time of Advent is for this: to stop and ask ourselves how we can prepare for Christmas. We are busy with so many preparations, with presents and things that pass by, but we must ask ourselves what to do for Jesus and for others.”
Concrete commitments
When St. John the Baptist was asked what to do, he offered specific answers, speaking of the “real situation of their lives”, since “faith is incarnated in concrete life”. “It is not an abstract and generalised theory,” he added, “it touches the flesh and transforms the life of each person.”
“Let us make a concrete commitment, however small, that fits our reality of life and let us try to make it concrete to prepare ourselves for this Christmas. For example: I can call that person who iss alone, visit that elderly or sick person, do something to serve a poor person, someone in need.”
This time of Advent is also propitious to pay off the debts we have towards the Lord, the Pontiff indicated.
“Perhaps I have neglected prayer and after a long time it is time to approach the Lord’s forgiveness.” Let’s find a specific thing and do it!
“May Our Lady, in whose womb God became flesh, help us.”
With information from Vatican News.