More must be done to restore dignity to victims of organized crime – Catholic World Report

Vatican City, Dec. 3, 2017 / 04:30 a.m. (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis opened the Church’s Advent season on Sunday by saying it is a time to let go of worldly distractions that take us away from God and focus on drawing closer to Him through prayer and care for others.

Referring to the day’s readings, which emphasize the importance of vigilance, the Pope said: “The vigilant person is one who, in the noise of the world, does not let himself be overwhelmed by distractions or superficiality, but lives in a full and conscious way, with concern above all for others.”

With this attitude, we quickly become aware of “the tears and the need of our neighbor and we can also welcome the human and spiritual qualities and capacities,” he said, adding that an attentive person “also turns to the world, trying to counteract indifference and its cruelty, and rejoices in the treasures of beauty that also exist and must be preserved.”

Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square during his Angelus address, which took place on the first Sunday of Advent.

He focused his speech on that day’s Gospel reading from Mark, in which Jesus tells his disciples, “Be watchful! Be alert!” because “you do not know when the time will come.”

Advent, he said, is a time given to us “to welcome the Lord who comes to meet us, to verify our longing for God, to look ahead and prepare ourselves for the second coming of Christ.”

Christ will come again at Christmas, when we remember how he came to us “in the humility of the human condition.” But Christ also comes to each of us “every time we are willing to receive him,” Francis said, and “he will come again at the end of time to judge the living and the dead.”

“Therefore let us always be watchful, attentive to the Lord, hoping to meet him.”

When we turn to the Gospel, and when Jesus urges his disciples and each of us to “be vigilant and alert,” Francis says that the person who is vigilant and alert is the one “who welcomes the invitation to be vigilant, that is, not to be overwhelmed by the sleep of discouragement, the lack of hope or by delusions.”

At the same time, this person also rejects “the appeal to the vanities with which the world overflows and behind which personal and familiar serenity is sometimes sacrificed.”

Pope Francis then moved on to the day’s first reading from the Book of Isaiah, in which the prophet described how it seemed to the people of Israel that God had left them alone to walk on paths far from his own.

“However, this was a consequence of the unfaithfulness of the people themselves,” he said, explaining that we often find ourselves in the same state of unfaithfulness to God’s calling: “He shows us the good path, the path of faith and love, but we seek our happiness elsewhere.”

Being vigilant and alert, these are the “presuppositions” to stop wandering on paths far from God, “lost in our sins and in our unfaithfulness.”

“It is the circumstances that allow God to interrupt our existence, to give it meaning and to appreciate his presence, full of goodness and tenderness,” he said, concluding his address with the prayer that Mary, the model and icon of watchful expectation, would lead us to an encounter with her Son Jesus, “and rekindle our love for him.”

After reciting the traditional Angelus prayer, Francis said he had returned yesterday from a six-day visit to Burma – also known as Myanmar – and Bangladesh. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to meet the people of both countries, especially the small Catholic populations of both countries.

The Pope said he was “edified” by their witness, and that the many faces “tried by life” but still “noble and smiling” made a deep impression on him.

He also expressed his concerns and prayers for Honduras, praying that the country would be able to “peacefully” overcome the recent escalation of political unrest and violent protests surrounding the country’s elections after a leading candidate was accused of voter fraud.

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