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Benedict XVI
TRUST
The Virgin is the One who continues to listen, always ready to do the Lord's
will; she is an example for the believer who lives in search of God.
~4-Dec-05
PEACE
In Advent, the liturgy frequently repeats and assures
us, as if to overcome our natural diffidence, that God "comes": he comes to
be with us in every situation of ours, he comes to dwell among us, to live
with us and within us; he comes to fill the gaps that divide and separate
us; he comes to reconcile us with him and with one another.
He comes into human history to knock at the door of
every man and every woman of good will, to bring to individuals, families
and peoples the gifts of brotherhood, harmony and peace.
This is why Advent is par excellence the season of hope
in which believers in Christ are invited to remain in watchful and active
waiting, nourished by prayer and by the effective commitment to love. May
the approaching Nativity of Christ fill the hearts of all Christians with
joy, serenity and peace!
~3-Dec-06
SILENCE
St Joseph's silence does not express an inner emptiness
but, on the contrary, the fullness of the faith he bears in his heart and
which guides his every thought and action. ,,,a silence woven of constant
prayer, a prayer of blessing of the Lord, of the adoration of his holy will
and of unreserved entrustment to his providence.
Let us allow ourselves to be "filled" with St Joseph's
silence! During this season of preparation for Christmas, let us cultivate
inner recollection in order to welcome and cherish Jesus in our own lives.
~18-Dec-05
HOPE
A message full of hope resounds in the liturgy of
Advent, inviting us to raise our gaze to the ultimate horizon but at the
same time to recognize the signs of the God-with-us in the present.
This is what the Lord wishes to do in Advent: to speak
to the heart of his people and through it to the whole of humanity, to
proclaim salvation.
~7-Dec-08
The hope of Christians is turned to the future but
remains firmly rooted in an event of the past. In the fullness of time, the
Son of God was born of the Virgin Mary:
We might say that Advent is the season in which
Christians must rekindle in their hearts the hope that they will be able
with God's help to renew the world.
~27-Nov-05
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John Paul II
PEACE
Preparing for his Birth means reawakening the hope of
peace in ourselves and throughout the world. Build peace in hearts first of
all, by laying down the weapons of rancour, revenge and every form of
selfishness.
May it be she, the Virgin of expectation, who helps us
to open our hearts to the One who, by his coming among us, brings the
priceless gift of peace to all humanity.
~30-Nov-03
JOY
To know that God is not distant but close, not
indifferent but compassionate, not aloof but a merciful Father who follows
us lovingly with respect for our freedom: all this is a cause of deep joy
which the alternating ups and downs of daily life cannot touch.
An unmistakable feature of Christian joy is that it can
go hand in hand with suffering, since it is based entirely on love. Indeed,
the Lord who "is near", to the point of becoming man, comes to fill us with
his joy, the joy of loving. Only in this way can we understand the serene
joy of the martyrs even amid trial, or the smile of saints, full of charity
for those who are suffering: a smile that does not offend but consoles.
~14-Dec-03
HUMILITY
Mary, Mother par excellence, helps us to understand the
key words of the mystery of the birth of her divine Son: humility, silence,
wonder, joy.
She exhorts us, first of all, to humility, so that God can find space in our
heart, not darkened by pride and arrogance. She points out to us the value
of silence, which knows how to listen to the song of the Angels and the
crying of the Child, not stifling them by noise and confusion.
Together with her, we stop before the Nativity scene
with intimate wonder, savouring the simple and pure joy that this Child
gives to humanity. ~21-Dec-03
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