UPDATE: Christmas is time for sharing, not commercialism, pope says

Christmas Lights

by Junno Arocho Esteves for Catholic News Service

Read the Full Article at Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Christmas tree and Nativity crèche should evoke the joy and the peace of God’s love and not the selfish indulgence of consumerism and indifference, Pope Francis said.

Meeting Dec. 10 with delegations from Andalo in Italy’s Trentino-South Tyrol region and from Peru’s Huancavelica region — responsible, respectively, for the Christmas tree and the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square — the pope said the traditional Christmas symbols bring an atmosphere that is “rich in tenderness, sharing and family closeness.”

“Let us not live a fake, commercial Christmas! Let us allow ourselves to be enveloped by God’s closeness, by the Christmas atmosphere that art, music, songs and traditions bring to our heart,” he said.

Categories: 

More Stories

Advent and Mary

Reflections on the Woman of the Apocalypse by Fr. Frederick Edlefsen
November 30, 2021
“Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary’s womb because he is the New Adam, who inaugurates the new creation:...Read more

A Saintly Jubilee Addition

October 26, 2021

During its 75th anniversary year, Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Arlington opened a prayer garden honoring its late former...Read more

STATEMENT BY BISHOP MICHAEL F. BURBIDGE ON U.S. HOUSE PASSAGE OF “WOMEN’S HEALTH PROTECTION ACT”

September 24, 2021
September 27, 2021

In the United States, the tragically pervasive acceptance of abortion has resulted in more than 62 million abortions since Roe v. Wade . Still,...Read more

Subscribe to Blog