Closeness to God brings joy, Pope says in Angelus address
December 15, 2014
Pope Francis devoted his Gaudete Sunday Angelus address to the theme of joy.
“The heart of man desires joy,” he said. “All of us aspire to joy. Every family, every people aspires to happiness. But what is the joy to which the Christian is called to live and to give witness? It is that that comes from the closeness of God, of his presence in our lives.”
“St. Paul in today's liturgy indicates for us the conditions for being a ‘missionary of joy’: to pray with perseverance, to always give thanks to God, to follow his Spirit, to seek the good and avoid evil,” he added. “If this would be our style of life, then the Good News could enter into so many houses and help people and families to discover that salvation is in Jesus.”
After the Angelus address, 50,000 prayer booklets were distributed to those present in St. Peter’s Square.
“Prayer is the breath of the soul,” Pope Francis said. “It is important to find moments during the day to open the heart to God, also with simple and brief prayers of the Christian people. That's why I decided to give you today a gift, for everyone here in the plaza, a surprise, a gift.”
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