VATICAN INSIDER TAKES A CHRISTMAS BREAK
EWTN will feature a Christmas Special in the time slot normally dedicated to Vatican Insider so I’ll see you all next weekend (unless there is a New Year Special!). We have tomorrow, December 23rd and Monday, the 26th, as holidays so Joan’s Rome might be a bit lite those days. However, if you have time, stay tuned because you know me – there’s often some kind of surprise!
The reason for the season –
Before I go, however, I’d like to wish all my radio listeners, TV viewers and blog readers a blessed, beautiful and holy Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year filled with many special moments and people. God sit on your shoulder!
Cheers!
POPE TO CURIA: “BE VIGILANT, EVIL COMES BACK UNDER NEW GUISES”
In his annual Christmas greeting to Officials of the Curia, Pope Francis asks them to always be grateful for the graces God grants us, to never think they are no longer in need of conversion, and to contribute to peace in every way.
Exchanging traditional Christmas greetings with members of the Roman Curia on Thursday, Pope Francis delivered a seven-point speech in which he asked them to never take the Lord’s graces for granted, to always walk a path of conversion, and to be peacemakers at a time in which we have never “felt so great a desire for peace.”
Reflecting on how Jesus’ birth in a simple and poor manger is a lesson in seeing things as they really are, he said “each of us is called to return to what is essential in our own lives, to discard all that is superfluous and a potential hindrance on the path of holiness.” To continue: Pope to Curia: ‘Be vigilant, evil comes back under new guises’ – Vatican News
POPE TO VATICAN EMPLOYEES: ALWAYS CONFIDE IN THE LORD AND BUILD PEACE
Pope Francis greets Vatican employees and their families in the Paul VI Audience Hall for the traditional exchange of Christmas greetings, and urges them to build peace in their homes and workplaces.
Addressing Vatican employees with their families during his annual Christmas greetings on Thursday, Pope Francis encouraged them to face the difficulties of life with faith, and to be artisans of peace starting from their own family and workplaces within the Holy See.
The Pope started his speech, delivered in the Paul VI Audience Hall, by remarking that we should all show gratefulness to God because, with His help, we have overcome the critical phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. He noted that as soon as things improve, we tend to forget to even thank the Lord. “This is not Christian and not even human,” he said.
Pope Francis noted that, although this critical phase has passed, the pandemic has left its marks: not only in material and economic terms, but also on people’s lives and relationships. He, therefore, wished all families first of all “serenity” which, he said, “does not mean that all is well”, but peace of mind in facing problems or difficulties. To continue: Pope to Vatican employees: Always confide in the Lord and build peace – Vatican News
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