CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The Dec. 20 edition of the Financial Times featured a rare article by Pope Benedict XVI in which he advises Christians to use Christmas as a time to \u201creassess priorities\u201d and reflect on how to live out their faith with eternity in mind.<\/p>\n\t\u201cWhile Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience,\u201d he says in the article.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAt the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the simplicity of the crib scene?\u201d he asks readers.<\/p>\n
\tSeeing an article in a newspaper by the Pope is a very unusual occurrence.<\/p>\n
\tThis particular story made it to print after the paper\u2019s editorial office saw Pope Benedict\u2019s recently published book \u201cJesus of Nazareth: the Infancy Narratives,\u201d which inspired them to request him to write about Christmas.<\/p>\n
\tThe Vatican press office said Dec. 20 that Pope Benedict has granted interviews in the past to the BBC, a few months after his trip to the United Kingdom, and to the Italian national television station RAI in the program \u201cA sua imagine\u201d during Easter.<\/p>\n
\tOn both occasions, like today's Financial Times article, he spoke about Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
\tBut this time he reflects on how Christians should examine how they can live out their faith in the world with a view to the eternal.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cRender unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God, was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes,\u201d he says in the piece that ran opposite the editorial page.<\/p>\n
\tHe notes that this response emerged from a question meant to trap Jesus into taking sides about Roman rule in the land of Israel.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cJesus' answer deftly moves the argument to a higher plane, gently cautioning against both the politicization of religion and the deification of temporal power, along with the relentless pursuit of wealth,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\tThe 85-year-old pontiff notes that \u201cthe birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tChristians should use Christmas as an opportunity to read the Gospel more, he counsels.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs \u2013 be it in the Houses of Parliament or in the stock exchange,\u201d he states.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cChristians should not shun the world, they should engage with it,\u201d he adds, \u201cbut their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe Pope also praises Christians' work for a more equitable sharing of the earth's resources, done out of a belief that they have the duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cChristians oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
\tAnd he says that because the goals of peace and justice are shared by so many, \u201cmuch fruitful co-operation is possible between Christians and others.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cYet Christians render to Caesar only what belongs to Caesar, not what belongs to God,\u201d he insists, pointing out that Christians cannot always comply with governments\u2019 demands.<\/p>\n
\tPope Benedict then responds to the frequent assertion that Christians \u201crefuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today\u201d because of \u201can antiquated worldview.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tChristians will not comply, he says, because \u201cthey are free from the constraints of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHe ends his Christmas reflection by speaking about Italian nativity scenes that include ancient Roman buildings in the background.<\/p>\n
\tThese displays show Jesus' birth as an end of the pagan world \"in which Caesar's claims went virtually unchallenged.\"<\/p>\n
\t\u201cFrom the manger,\u201d the Pope writes, \u201cChrist calls us to live as citizens of his heavenly kingdom, a kingdom that all people of goodwill can help to build here on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Rome, Italy, Dec 20, 2012 \/ 10:30 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Dec. 20 edition of the Financial Times featured a rare article by Pope Benedict XVI in which he advises Christians to use Christmas as a time to “reassess priorities” and reflect on…<\/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-1882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\n
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