In view of the war in the Middle East, Pope Francis has called for peace. At the Christmas mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the church leader recalled the Christmas message. The festival is “not a mixture of cheesy feelings and worldly consolation.”
Pope Francis used the Christmas mass in St. Peter’s Basilica as a reminder for peace. The head of the approximately 1.3 billion Catholics recalled the Christmas message “Peace on Earth to people” during the evening service in the Vatican.
“Our hearts are this evening in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is still repulsed by the doomed logic of war, by the noise of weapons that prevents him even today from finding a home in the world,” said Francis with Blick on the war in the Middle East. This year the festival is particularly influenced by the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine.
“God doesn’t save us at the push of a button”
The Pope also recalled the meaning of Christmas: “This is the miracle of Christmas: not a mixture of cheesy feelings and worldly consolations, but the incredible tenderness of God who saves the world by becoming human.”
God is not a powerful ruler associated with worldly success and “the idolatry of consumerism,” Francis said. He is also not a God who only serves to solve people’s problems. “He does not use a magic wand, he is not the commercial god of ‘everything and instant’,” the Pope emphasized. “He doesn’t save us at the push of a button, but rather he comes close to us to change reality from within.”
In a world that judges and does not forgive, many people feel feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction, Francis continued. But Jesus does not wait for successful achievements, but for an open and trusting heart.
Quiet Christmas in Bethlehem
According to the Vatican, around 7,000 people took part in the service in St. Peter’s Basilica. In addition, the events in St. Peter’s Square in front of the church were watched by thousands on large screens. On Monday, Pope Francis will speak the Urbi et Orbi blessing to the city and the world from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Christmas will be celebrated very quietly in the Holy Land this year because of the Gaza war between Israel and the militant Islamist Hamas. In Bethlehem in the West Bank – according to tradition the birthplace of Jesus Christ – there are hardly any tourists, unlike usual. There were no Christmas trees. Access to the city is extremely restricted by Israeli army roadblocks. There are practically no Christmas decorations in Jerusalem either.