Dear sisters and brothers, merry Christmas!
Tonight the mystery that never ceases to amaze and move us was renewed: the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Son of God, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and placed him in a manger. This is how the shepherds of Bethlehem found him, full of joy, while the angels sang: “Glory to God and peace to men” (see Lc 2,6-14). Peace to men.
Yes, this event, which occurred more than two thousand years ago, is renewed through the work of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit of Love and Life who fertilized Mary's womb and formed Jesus from her human flesh. And so today, in the travail of in our time, the eternal Word of salvation is incarnated again and truly, which says to every man and every woman, which says to the whole world – this is the message -: “I love you, I forgive you, return to me, door of my heart is open for you!”.
Sisters, brothers, the door of God's heart is always open, let us return to Him! Let's return to the heart that loves us and forgives us! Let us allow ourselves to be forgiven by Him, let us be reconciled with Him! God always forgives! God forgives everything. Let us allow ourselves to be forgiven by Him.
This means the Holy Door of the Jubilee, which I opened here in St. Peter's yesterday evening: it represents Jesus, the Door of salvation open for all. Jesus is the Door; it is the Door that the merciful Father has opened in the midst of the world, in the midst of history, so that we can all return to Him. We are all like lost sheep and we need a Shepherd and a Door to return to the Father's house. Jesus is the Shepherd, Jesus is the Door.
Brothers, sisters, do not be afraid! The Door is open, the Door is wide open! There is no need to knock on the door. It's open. Come! Let us allow ourselves to be reconciled with God, and then we will be reconciled with ourselves and we will be able to reconcile with each other, even with our enemies. The mercy of God can do everything, it unties every knot, it breaks down every wall of division, the mercy of God dissolves hatred and the spirit of revenge. Come! Jesus is the Door of Peace.
Often we stop only on the threshold; we don't have the courage to go beyond it, because it puts us into question. Entering the Door requires the sacrifice of taking a step – a small sacrifice; taking a step for something so big – requires leaving contentions and divisions behind, to abandon oneself to the open arms of the Child who is the Prince of peace. At this Christmas, the beginning of the Jubilee Year, I invite every person, every people and nation to have the courage to cross the Door, to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the weapons and to overcome divisions!
Let the weapons be silent in the tormented Ukraine! Let us have the audacity to open the door to negotiation and gestures of dialogue and meeting, to arrive at a just and lasting peace.
Silence the weapons in the Middle East! With my eyes fixed on the cradle of Bethlehem, I turn my thoughts to the Christian communities in Palestine and Israel, and in particular to the dear community of Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is very serious. Let the fire cease, the hostages be freed and the population exhausted by hunger and war be helped. I am also close to the Christian community in Lebanon, especially in the south, and to that of Syria, in this delicate moment. May the doors of dialogue and peace be opened throughout the region, torn by conflict. And I also want to remember the Libyan people here, encouraging them to seek solutions that allow national reconciliation.
May the birth of the Savior bring a time of hope to the families of thousands of children who are dying from a measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as to the populations of the East of that country and those of Burkina Faso, Mali, of Niger and Mozambique. The humanitarian crisis affecting them is mainly caused by armed conflicts and the scourge of terrorism and is aggravated by the devastating effects of climate change, which cause the loss of human lives and the displacement of millions of people. I also think of the populations of the countries of the Horn of Africa for whom I implore the gifts of peace, harmony and brotherhood. May the Son of the Almighty support the international community's commitment to promoting access to humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Sudan and in starting new negotiations with a view to a ceasefire.
May the announcement of Christmas bring comfort to the inhabitants of Myanmar, who, due to continuous armed clashes, suffer serious suffering and are forced to flee their homes.
May the Child Jesus inspire the political authorities and all people of good will on the American continent, so that effective solutions in truth and justice can be found as soon as possible, to promote social harmony, I am thinking in particular of Haiti, Venezuela, Colombia and Nicaragua, and let us work, especially in this Jubilee Year, to build the common good and rediscover the dignity of every person, overcoming political divisions.
May the Jubilee be an opportunity to break down all walls of separation: the ideological ones, which so often mark political life, and also the physical ones, such as the division which has affected the island of Cyprus for fifty years and which has torn it apart the human and social fabric. I hope that we can reach a shared solution, a solution that puts an end to the division with full respect for the rights and dignity of all Cypriot communities.
Jesus, the eternal Word of God made man, is the Open Door; it is the wide open door that we are invited to cross to rediscover the meaning of our existence and the sacredness of every life – every life is sacred -, and to recover the founding values of the human family. He awaits us on the threshold. It awaits each of us, especially the most fragile: it awaits children, all the children who suffer from war and suffer from hunger; awaits the elderly, often forced to live in conditions of solitude and abandonment; awaits those who have lost their homes or flee their land, in an attempt to find a safe refuge; awaits those who have lost or cannot find a job; awaits the prisoners who, despite everything, remain children of God, always children of God; awaits those who are persecuted for their faith. There are many.
On this day of celebration, may we express our gratitude towards those who do their utmost for good in a silent and faithful way: I think of parents, educators, teachers, who have the great responsibility of training future generations; I think of the health workers, the police forces, those involved in charitable works, especially the missionaries scattered around the world, who bring light and comfort to many people in difficulty. To all of them we want to say: Thank you!
Brothers and sisters, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to forgive debts, especially those that burden the poorest countries. Everyone is called to forgive the offenses received, because the Son of God, who was born in the cold and darkness of the night, forgives all our debts. He came to heal us and forgive us. Pilgrims of hope, let's go to meet him! Let us open the doors of our hearts to him. Let us open the doors of our heart to him, as he opened the door of his heart to us.
I wish everyone a peaceful Christmas.
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