“Conflict ... is a false trail leading us astray … aimless, directionless and trapped in a labyrinth; it is a waste of energy and an occasion for evil,” he said. “The first evil that conflict leads us to, and which we must try to avoid, is gossip ... idle chatter, which traps us in an unpleasant, sad and stifling state of self-absorption, and transforms every crisis into conflict.”
The pope said that the right approach to renewal is “like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old,” quoting chapter 13 of the Gospel of Matthew.
“That treasure is Tradition, which, as Benedict XVI recalled, ‘is the living river that links us to the origins, the living river in which the origins are ever present, the great river that leads us to the gates of eternity,’” Pope Francis said.
“The ‘old’ is the truth and grace we already possess. The ‘new’ are those different aspects of the truth that we gradually come to understand … No historical form of living the Gospel can exhaust its full comprehension. If we let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit, we will daily draw closer to ‘the whole truth’”.
“Without the grace of the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, we can even start to imagine a ‘synodal’ Church that, rather than being inspired by communion, ends up being seen as just another democratic assembly made up of majorities and minorities -- like a parliament, for example, and this is not synodality -- Only the presence of the Holy Spirit makes the difference,” he added.
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Pope Francis said that in this “Christmas of the pandemic” there is a health crisis, an economic crisis, a social crisis, and “an ecclesial crisis.”
“What should we do during a crisis? First, accept it as a time of grace granted us to discern God’s will for each of us and for the whole Church. We need to enter into the apparent paradoxical notion that ‘when I am weak, then I am strong,’” he said.
Pope Francis urged that “we must not tire of praying constantly” during a time of crisis. “We know of no other solution to the problems we are experiencing than that of praying more fervently and at the same time doing everything in our power with greater confidence. Prayer will allow us to ‘hope against all hope.’”
He said: “The voice of God is never the tumultuous voice of the crisis, but rather the quiet voice that speaks in the crisis.”
Pope Francis spoke to the cardinals and supervisors of the departments in the Roman Curia inside the Vatican’s Hall of Blessing, a location chosen to provide more space for social distancing. The pope spoke in front of a large tapestry depicting the nativity of Christ in the Apostolic Palace. Poinsettia arrangements and Christmas trees with large wooden ornaments flanked him on either side.
He said: “God continues to make the seeds of his kingdom grow in our midst. Here in the Curia, there are many people bearing quiet witness by their discreet, unassuming, faithful, honest and professional work. There are many of you, thank you.”
“Our times have their own problems, yet they also have a living witness to the fact that the Lord has not abandoned his people. The only difference is that problems immediately end up in the newspapers … while signs of hope only make the news much later, if at all.”
The pope announced that he will give each member of the Roman Curia a biography of Blessed Charles de Foucauld as a Christmas gift, along with another book by Biblical scholar Gabriele M. Corini.
He added: “Allow me to ask expressly of all of you, who join me in the service of the Gospel, for the Christmas gift of your generous and whole-hearted cooperation in proclaiming the Good News above all to the poor.”
Pope Francis said that the hope for the world found “its most glorious and and most succinct expression in the few words with which the Gospels announced their glad tidings: ‘A child has been born unto us.’”
Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.