{"id":17445,"date":"2016-12-18T12:24:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-18T12:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says-33069\/"},"modified":"2016-12-18T12:24:00","modified_gmt":"2016-12-18T12:24:00","slug":"amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid Christmas rush, don’t forget to make time for silence, Pope says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Vatican City, Dec 18, 2016 \/ 05:24 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- On Sunday Pope Francis said that with Christmas just around the corner, it\u2019s important to stop and make time for silent reflection on the true meaning of the holiday, specifically on figures in the Nativity. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNext Sunday will be Christmas. This week let us try to find a moment to pause, to have a bit of silence,\u201d the Pope said Dec. 18.<\/p>\n

He encouraged pilgrims to take time to reflect on what it was like for Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem, imagining \u201cthe path, the fatigue, but also the joy, the emotion and then then anxiety of finding a place, the worry\u201d and whatever else might come to mind.<\/p>\n

Contemplating the Nativity scene is a good way to keep one\u2019s focus where it should be, he said, and voiced his hope that everyone would be able to really enter into \u201cthe true Christmas,\u201d in which Jesus draws near to us as \u201cGod with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The grace of Christmas is one of love, humility and tenderness, he said, and prayed that all would be able to receive this grace with openness and confidence in God.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims on his final Sunday Angelus address before Christmas, centering his brief speech on the figures of Mary and Joseph in the day\u2019s Gospel reading from Matthew in which Joseph had decided to divorce Mary quietly after finding out about her pregnancy, but changes his mind and takes her as his wife after the angel Gabriel appeared to him in a dream, telling him not to fear.<\/p>\n

In becoming man, \u201cGod draws near to the human being taking the flesh of a woman,\u201d the Pope said, noting that God also draws near to us, but in a different way.<\/p>\n

Through his grace, God enters our lives and offers his own Son as a gift, Francis said, asking \u201cwhat do we do? Do we welcome him, or refuse him, kicking him out?\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as Mary allowed God to \u201cchange the destiny of mankind\u201d by opening herself freely to him, we must also try to seek Jesus and to follow his will every day, he said. If we do this, we will be able to cooperate \u201cin his plan of salvation for us and for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary appears to us, then, as a model to look to and support on whom we count in our search for God and in our commitment to building a civilization of love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pointing to St. Joseph, Pope Francis said that as shown in the Gospel, on his own he can\u2019t give an explanation for what he sees unfolding before him. However, it is precisely in that moment that God draws near to him through the angel, revealing the true nature of Mary\u2019s mysterious pregnancy.<\/p>\n

In responding to the angel\u2019s invitation, Joseph \u201cdoesn\u2019t repudiate his bride, but takes her with him,\u201d Francis said, explaining that Joseph welcomed Mary with full knowledge and love for \u201che who in her was conceived by the marvelous work of God, for whom nothing is impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, a humble and just man, teaches us to always trust in God, to let ourselves be guided by him with willing obedience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Francis closed his address saying that Mary and Joseph truly introduce us \u201cto the mystery of Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMary helps us to put ourselves in an attitude of availability to welcome the Son of God in our concrete lives, in our flesh. Joseph spurs us to always seek the will of God and to follow it with full trust,\u201d he said, and led pilgrims in praying the Angelus.<\/p>\n

After reciting the traditional Marian prayer, Francis offered special prayers for the ongoing political dialogue in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n

The DRC is currently entangled in a political headlock as the country\u2019s president, Joseph Kabila, faces the end of his final term, set for Dec. 19.<\/p>\n

However, the elections, originally scheduled to take place in November, were never organized, and according to a deal struck between Kabila and an opposition faction in October, the president is allowed to stay in power until official polls are held.<\/p>\n

The polls are tentatively set for April 2018, however, many parties in opposition to Kabila\u2019s government oppose the deal, and are calling for the president to step down and schedule the elections for 2017.<\/p>\n

As tensions mount, fears are also increasing that there will be a repeat of a Sept. 19 demonstration by one of the opposition groups turned violent, leading to the death of more than 50 people in just two days.<\/p>\n

Catholic bishop in the country have intervened in negotiations in hopes that a crisis might be averted with Kabila\u2019s term ends tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis himself prayed after the Angelus that the talks would be \u201cconducted with serenity in order to avoid any type of violence, and for the good of the entire country.\u201d<\/p>\n

He thanked everyone who sent him birthday wishes yesterday for his 80th birthday, and wished the pilgrims a merry Christmas before asking for prayers.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Dec 18, 2016 \/ 05:24 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis said that with Christmas just around the corner, it’s important to stop and make time for silent reflection on the true meaning of the holiday, specifically on figures…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nAmid Christmas rush, don't forget to make time for silence, Pope says<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Dec 18, 2016 \/ 05:24 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis said that with Christmas just around the corner, it’s important to stop and make time for silent reflection on the true meaning of the holiday, specifically on figures...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amid Christmas rush, don't forget to make time for silence, Pope says\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vatican City, Dec 18, 2016 \/ 05:24 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis said that with Christmas just around the corner, it’s important to stop and make time for silent reflection on the true meaning of the holiday, specifically on figures...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-18T12:24:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Unveiling_of_the_Nativity_scene_in_St_Peters_Square_Dec_9_2016_Credit_Daniel_Ibanez_CNA.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/\",\"name\":\"Amid Christmas rush, don't forget to make time for silence, Pope says\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-18T12:24:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-18T12:24:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Vatican City, Dec 18, 2016 \/ 05:24 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis said that with Christmas just around the corner, it’s important to stop and make time for silent reflection on the true meaning of the holiday, specifically on figures...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Amid Christmas rush, don’t forget to make time for silence, Pope says\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Amid Christmas rush, don't forget to make time for silence, Pope says","description":"Vatican City, Dec 18, 2016 \/ 05:24 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis said that with Christmas just around the corner, it’s important to stop and make time for silent reflection on the true meaning of the holiday, specifically on figures...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Amid Christmas rush, don't forget to make time for silence, Pope says","og_description":"Vatican City, Dec 18, 2016 \/ 05:24 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis said that with Christmas just around the corner, it’s important to stop and make time for silent reflection on the true meaning of the holiday, specifically on figures...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2016-12-18T12:24:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Unveiling_of_the_Nativity_scene_in_St_Peters_Square_Dec_9_2016_Credit_Daniel_Ibanez_CNA.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/","name":"Amid Christmas rush, don't forget to make time for silence, Pope says","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-12-18T12:24:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-18T12:24:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Vatican City, Dec 18, 2016 \/ 05:24 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis said that with Christmas just around the corner, it’s important to stop and make time for silent reflection on the true meaning of the holiday, specifically on figures...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/12\/amid-christmas-rush-dont-forget-to-make-time-for-silence-pope-says\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Amid Christmas rush, don’t forget to make time for silence, Pope says"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}