"Imagine how our world would change if each one of us began straight away",
he remarked. "This is the true Nativity: the feast of the poverty of the God
Who annihilated Himself, assuming the nature of a slave; of God Who served at
the table; of God Who hid Himself from the intelligent and the wise and
instead revealed Himself to the smallest, the simple and the poor. It is above
all the feast of Peace brought to earth by the baby Jesus, ... the peace the
Angels sang". He continued, "Peace needs our enthusiasm, our care, to warm our
frozen hearts, to encourage distrusting souls and to brighten jaded eyes with
the light of Jesus' face".
 The Pope concluded by asking forgiveness for his shortcomings, and those of
his colleagues, and also for the various scandals "that do a great deal of
damage", he commented. "Forgive me and, please, pray for me".

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 Angelus: at Christmas, Jesus calls out again to the heart of every Christian
 Vatican City, 21 December 2014 (VIS) - On the fourth and final Sunday of
Advent, with Christmas just around the corner, the Gospel narrates the Angel's
annunciation to Mary and the Virgin's "yes" that made possible the
Incarnation, the revelation of a mystery "enveloped in silence for eternity".
Before this morning's Angelus prayer, Pope Francis addressed the faithful
gathered in St. Peter's Square, focusing on two essential aspects of Mary's
attitude as a model to prepare for Christmas.
 The first is her faith, which consists of listening to the Word of God in
order to surrender herself entirely to it, with full willingness of both mind
and heart. "In her 'yes', full of faith, Mary does not know which road she
will have to embark upon, how much pain she will have to suffer, what risks
she will run. But she is aware that it is the Lord Who asks her to entrust
herself entirely to Him, and she surrenders herself to His love. This is
Mary's faith".
 "Another aspect is the capacity of the Mother of Christ to recognise the time
of God. Mary teaches us to seize the favourable moment in which Jesus passes
into our life and asks for a prompt and generous response".
 "And Jesus passes", added the Pope, "because the mystery of Jesus' birth in
Bethlehem, which historically took place more than two thousand years ago,
occurs as a spiritual event on the 'today' of the Liturgy. The Word, that
finds a home in the virginal womb of Mary, during the celebration of the
Nativity calls out to the heart of every Christian; it passes, and knocks on
the door. Each one of us is called to answer, like Mary, with a personal and
sincere 'yes', placing ourselves entirely at the disposal of God and His
mercy, His love".
 "How many times does Jesus pass into our lives!", he exclaimed. "And how many
times he sends us an angel, and how often we do not realise, because we are
too preoccupied, immersed in our thoughts, in our affairs and even, these
days, in our preparations for Christmas, to realise that He passes and knocks
at the door of our heart, asking for welcome, asking for a 'yes', like that of
Mary".
 "A saint once said, 'I am afraid that the Lord will pass'. Do you know why he
was afraid? He was afraid he would not welcome Him, that he would let Him pass
by. When we feel in our heart, 'I would like to be a better person', "I feel
remorse for doing that", it is the Lord Who is calling. He makes you feel
this: the wish to be better, the wish to stay closer to others and to God. If
you feel this, then stop. It is the Lord Who is there! And pray, perhaps go to
Confession, to clean up a little ... this does you good. But keep in mind: if
you feel this desire to improve, it is He Who is calling: do not let Him pass
by".
 Francis also recalled, in the mystery of the Nativity, the silent presence of
Joseph and emphasised the example that he and Mary offer as an invitation to
receive with total openness the Lord Jesus, "who for love made Himself into
our brother, and came to bring light to the world", as the angels proclaimed
to the shepherds: 'on earth peace, good will toward men'".
 "The precious gift of Christmas is peace", he concluded. "Christ, Who is our
true peace, calls to our hearts to give us peace, the peace of the soul. Let
us open the doors to Christ".

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 The Pope receives the Community of Pope John XXIII and praises its generosity
in helping people rise above material and moral degradation
 Vatican City, 20 December 2014 (VIS) - Today in the Paul VI Hall the Holy
Father received 7,500 members of the Community of John Paul XXIII, founded by
the Italian priest Oreste Benzi in 1968. The association, currently present in
34 countries, is concerned with situations of marginalisation and poverty and
promotes the non-violent removal of the root causes. It follows the principle
of sharing of life in a number of contexts: minors and young people in
difficult conditions, the disabled, detainees, itinerant communities, drug
users, alcoholics, those without fixed abode, the elderly, the sick, mothers
with problems and women forced into prostitution.
 During the audience, various members of the Community narrated to the Pope
their experiences, which as Francis said, spoke of "slavery and liberation, of
the selfishness of those who imagine they can build up their lives by
exploiting others and taking advantage of the generosity of those who help
others to rise up from material and moral degradation. They are experiences
that shed light on the many forms of poverty that unfortunately afflict our
world, and they reveal the most dangerous misery of all, the cause of all
others: distance from God, the presumption of being able to do without Him.
This is the blind misery of those who believe that the aim of their existence
is material wealth, the pursuit of power and pleasure, and the enslavement of
the lives of others to these objectives".
 "Yes, my friends, it is the presence of the Lord that makes the difference
between the freedom of good and the slavery of evil ... it broadens horizons
... and gives us the strength necessary to overcome difficulties and
obstacles. ... Faith, indeed, moves the mountains of indifference and apathy,
of disinterest and sterile self-centredness. ... Faith opens the doors of
charity ... giving us the courage to act according to the example of the Good
Samaritan. Fr. Oresti Benzi, the founder of your association, understood this
well. His love for the least and for the poor, for the excluded and the
abandoned, was rooted in his love for Jesus crucified, Who made Himself poor
for us. ... From the mission of involving adolescents and encouraging their
interest in the figure of Jesus, there was born the idea of organising for
them a vital and radical encounter with Him as a hero and friend, through
testimonies of life, fully demonstrating the Christian message, but in a
joyful or even joking fashion".
 "In this way your community was born, now present in 34 countries with its
family-houses, its social and educational cooperatives, its houses of prayer,
services for accompanying difficult motherhood and other initiatives",
continued the Pope. "Providence has enabled you to grow, demonstrating the
vitality of the charism of your Founder, who liked to say that "to get onto
your feet, you need to kneel first".
 Pope Francis concluded by inviting those present to be attentive to their
spiritual formation, and to partake frequently of the Sacraments, especially
the Eucharist, as "it fills the heart with the love for God that is the
wellspring of charity towards our brothers and sisters".

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 Audiences
 On Saturday, 20 December, the Holy Father received in audience:
 - His Royal Highness Jaime Bernardo, Prince of Bourbon de Parme, ambassador
of the Netherlands to the Holy See, presenting his letters of credence;
 - Clelio Galassi, ambassador of the Republic of San Marino to the Holy See,
presenting his letters of credence;
 - Eduardo Felix Valdes, ambassador of the Republic of Argentina to the Holy
See, presenting his letters of credence.

___________________________________________________________

 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 22 December 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has
 - appointed Bishop Christopher J. Coyne, auxiliary of the archdiocese of
Indianapolis, U.S.A., as bishop of Burlington (area 23,651, population
651,000, Catholics 123,700, priests 133, permanent deacons 43, religious 149),
U.S.A.
 - appointed Bishop Benjamin Ndiaye of Kaolack, Senegal, as archbishop of
Dakar (area 4,803, population 3,677,000, Catholics 455,000, priests 168,
religious 645), Senegal. He succeeds Cardinal Theodore-Adrien Sarr, whose
resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese upon reaching the
age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
 - accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of
Basel, Switzerland, presented by Bishop Martin Gachter upon reaching the age
limit.
 - erected the new diocese of Kuzhithurai (area 915, population 855,485,
Catholics 264,222, priests 131, religious 269) India, with territory taken
from the diocese of Kottar, making it a suffragan of the metropolitan church
of Madurai. He appointed Fr. Jerome Dhas Varuvel, S.D.B., as first bishop of
the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Paduvoor, India in 1951, gave
his perpetual vows in 1981, and was ordained a priest in 1985. He holds a
bachelor's degree in economics and theology, and a licentiate in education
from the Pontifical Salesian University, Rome, and has served in a number of
roles, including vice rector of the novitiate in Vellakinar, rector of the
pre-novitiate in Tirupattur and Maiyam, dean of the Salesian student body in
Trichy, parish priest and rector of the con-Cathedral of Madras-Mylapore,
provincial counsellor, director of Kalvi Solai in Tirupattur and in Ennore,
and director of Mount Don Bosco in Thalavadi. He is currently master of
novices in Yeallagiri Hills, Vellore.
 On Saturday, 20 December, the Holy Father appointed:
 - Bishop Jose Guadalupe Torres Campos of Gomez Palacio, Mexico, as bishop of
Ciudad Juarez (area 29,639, population 2,727,000, Catholics 2,318,000, priests
116, permanent deacons 19, religious 206), Mexico. He succeeds Bishop Renato
Ascencio Leon, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese
upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
 - Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue as camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church;
 - Archbishop Giampiero Gloder, apostolic nuncio and president of the
Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, as vice camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church.

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