Papal warning for Christmas preparation: don't be distracted by the lights

December 12, 2011

Pope Benedict XVI cautioned the faithful to “live Advent without becoming distracted by the lights,” during his public audience on Sunday, December 11.

“The external environment presents its usual commercial messages, though perhaps somewhat subdued due to the economic crisis,” the Pope said. The challenge for Christians is “keeping their interior gaze fixed on Christ” despite the distractions of the season.

During the Christmas season particularly, the pace of life “is often frenetic,” the Pope observed. But true joy can never be found in multiplying earthly pursuits, he warned, because “true joy depends on our relationship with God.”

At the end of his Angelus audience, the Pope carried out a Roman tradition, blessing the figurines of the Child Jesus—the bambinelli--that had been brought to St. Peter’s Square by thousands of Roman children before being placed in family Christmas crèches. The Pope promised to pray for the children and their parents, asking them to pray for him in turn.

 

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Further information:

• Advent: Openness to the Encounter with Jesus (VIS)
• Witnesses of light (L'Osservatore Romano)