being burdened by the accumulation of needless things, caught up in our own   
   concerns and driven by ambition".   
    Accountability and sobriety: "Accountable and trustworthy persons are those   
   who   
   honour their commitments with seriousness and responsibility when they are   
   being   
   observed, but above all when they are alone; they radiate a sense of   
   tranquillity because they never betray a trust. Sobriety - the last virtue on   
   this list, but not because it is least important - is the ability to renounce   
   what is superfluous and to resist the dominant consumerist mentality. Sobriety   
   is prudence, simplicity, straightforwardness, balance and temperance. Sobriety   
   is seeing the world through God's eyes and from the side of the poor. Sobriety   
   is a style of life which points to the primacy of others as a hierarchical   
   principle and is shown in a life of concern and service towards others. The   
   sober person is consistent and straightforward in all things, because he or she   
   can reduce, recover, recycle, repair, and live a life of moderation".   
    Following this list of qualities, Francis went on to remind the prelates that   
   "mercy is no fleeting sentiment, but rather the synthesis of the joyful Good   
   News, a choice and decision on the part of all who desire to assume the 'Heart   
   of Jesus' and to be serious followers of the Lord who has asked us to 'be   
   merciful even as your heavenly Father is merciful'. In the words of Father   
   Ermes   
   Ronchi, 'Mercy is a scandal for justice, a folly for intelligence, a   
   consolation   
   for us who are debtors. The debt for being alive, the debt for being loved is   
   only repayable by mercy'.   
    "And so", he emphasised, "may mercy guide our steps, inspire our reforms and   
   enlighten our decisions. May it be the basis of all our efforts. May it teach   
   us   
   when to move forward and when to step back. May it also enable us to understand   
   the littleness of all that we do in God's greater plan of salvation and his   
   majestic and mysterious working".   
    To conclude, the Holy Father invited those present to savour the magnificent   
   prayer, commonly attributed to Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero, but pronounced for   
   the first time by Cardinal John Dearden:   
    "Every now and then it helps us to take a step back   
    and to see things from a distance.   
    The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is also beyond our visions.   
    In our lives, we manage to achieve only a small part   
    of the marvellous plan that is God's work.   
    Nothing that we do is complete,   
    which is to say that the Kingdom is greater than ourselves.   
    No statement says everything that can be said.   
    No prayer completely expresses the faith.   
    No Creed brings perfection.   
    No pastoral visit solves every problem.   
    No programme fully accomplishes the mission of the Church.   
    No goal or purpose ever reaches completion.   
    This is what it is about:   
    We plant seeds that one day will grow.   
    We water seeds already planted,   
    knowing that others will watch over them.   
    We lay the foundations of something that will develop.   
    We add the yeast which will multiply our possibilities.   
    We cannot do everything,   
    yet it is liberating to begin.   
    This gives us the strength to do something and to do it well.   
    It may remain incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way.   
    It is an opportunity for the grace of God to enter   
    and to do the rest.   
    It may be that we will never see its completion,   
    but that is the difference between the master and the labourer.   
    We are labourers, not master builders,   
    servants, not the Messiah.   
    We are prophets of a future that does not belong to us".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope receives Vatican employees: live the Jubilee in the domestic church   
   too   
    Vatican City, 21 December 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Paul VI Hall Pope   
   Francis exchanged Christmas greetings with the employees of the Holy See and   
   Vatican City State, and their families.   
    Francis thanked all present for their work and for their efforts in doing all   
   things well, even when there is no recognition. He addressed in particular   
   those   
   who have carried out the same type of work for many years, acknowledging that   
   routine is not always easy to accept as "we are not machines ... at times we   
   need   
   an incentive, or to change a little. ... Thank you! Let us continue to go   
   ahead,   
   in our various workplaces, collaborating with patience and endeavouring to help   
   each other."   
    The Holy Father also apologised for the scandals that have taken place in the   
   Vatican. "But I would like my and your attitude, especially in these days, to   
   be   
   that of prayer: praying for those involved so that they may repent and return   
   to   
   a righteous path".   
    "There is another thing I wish to say to you, possibly the most important: I   
   encourage you to take care of your marriage and your children. Look after them,   
   do not neglect them. Marriage is like a plant. It is not like a cupboard that   
   you put in a room and perhaps dust every now and then. A plant is living and   
   must be cared for every day. ... Marriage is a living reality: the life of a   
   couple must never be taken for granted, in any phase during the progress of a   
   family. Let us remember that the most valuable gift for children ... is their   
   parents' love. And I do not mean only the love of parents for their children,   
   but also the love between parents themselves, that is, the conjugal bond. This   
   is good for you and for your children".   
    "Therefore, first and foremost cultivate the plant of marriage, as spouses,   
   and   
   at the same time take care of the relationship with your children; here too,   
   focus on the human relationship rather than material things. Focus on mercy in   
   your daily relations, between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers   
   and sisters; and take care of grandparents. The Jubilee must be lived also in   
   the domestic church, not only in major events! The Lord love those who practice   
   mercy in ordinary situations. This is my wish for you: to experience the joy of   
   mercy, starting with your family. Happy Christmas!".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Christmas: encounter Jesus in places of wonder   
    Vatican City, 20 December 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father appeared at the window   
   of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace at midday today to pray the   
   Angelus   
   with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. Among those present there was   
   a large group of children from the Oratories who eagerly awaited the blessing   
   of   
   their figurines of the Baby Jesus for their nativity displays. On the fourth   
   Sunday of Advent the Pope explained that, for celebrate Christmas in a fruitful   
   way, we must stop in places of 'wonder'.   
    "The first place is the 'other', whom we recognise as our brother or sister,   
   as   
   since the birth of Jesus, every face bears a resemblance to the Son of God, and   
   especially when it is the face of a poor person, because God entered the world   
   in poverty and allowed Himself to be approached first by the poor". The second   
   place of wonder is history. "Very often we think we see things in the right   
   way,   
   and instead we risk reading things backwards. This happens, for instance, when   
   history seems to us to be determined by the market economy, regulated by   
   finance   
   and business, dominated by the powers that be. The God of Christmas is instead   
   a   
   God who 'shuffles the deck'.   
    "The third place of wonder is the Church", he continued. "To look on her with   
   the wonder of faith means considering the Church not merely as a religious   
   institution - which the Church is - but to feel that she is also a mother in   
   whom, despite her warts and wrinkles - there are so many! - the contours of the   
   bride beloved of and purified by Christ the Lord shine through. A Church who   
   knows how to recognise the many signs of faithful love that God continuously   
   sends her. A Church for whom the Lord Jesus will never be a possession to be   
   zealously defended; those who do this are mistaken. The Lord Jesus will always   
   be the One who comes to meet her, Whom she knows to await with trust and joy,   
   giving a voice to the hopes of the world. The Church who calls to the Lord,   
   'Come Lord Jesus'. The Mother Church whose doors are always open, whose arms   
   are   
   open to welcome everyone. The Mother Church goes out from her own doors to   
   seek,   
   with a mother's smile, all of those who are far away to bring them to God's   
   mercy. This is the wonder of Christmas".   
    He emphasised that "At Christmas, God gives Himself to us fully by giving His   
   one and only Son, Who is all his joy. It is only with the heart of Mary, the   
   humble and poor daughter of Zion, who become the Mother of the Son of the Most   
   High, that we can rejoice and be glad for the great gift of God and for His   
   unexpected surprise. ... The encounter with Jesus will let us too feel this   
   great   
   wonder. But we cannot have this wonder and we cannot meet Jesus, if we do not   
   meet Him in the other, in history and in the Church", he concluded.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The path to ending violence in the Middle East   
    Vatican City, 20 December 2015 (VIS) - After today's Angelus prayer, the Pope   
   spoke about the recent agreements regarding the Middle East reached by the   
   international community. "I encourage everyone to continue, with a generosity   
   and dedication, towards a cessation of violence and a negotiated settlement   
   leading to peace". Similarly, he mentioned the situation in Libya, where "the   
   recent working agreement among the parties for a government of national unity   
   invites hope for the future". He also commented on the commitment to   
   collaboration between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, expressing his hope that "a   
   renewed spirit of fraternity will further strengthen dialogue and mutual   
   cooperation between them and among the countries of the region".   
    He also mentioned the populations of India, recently stricken by a major   
   flood,   
   and asked those present to pray a Hail Mary for these afflicted brothers and   
   sisters. Finally, he greeted all, and especially the many children in St.   
   Peter's Square who had brought figurines of the Baby Jesus from their Nativity   
   displays to be blessed by the Pope. "Dear children, when you pray before your   
   Nativity, remember me, as I will remember you".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis praises the Italian Rail service for its solidarity with the poor   
    Vatican City, 19 December 2015 (VIS) - "The history of the Italian rail   
   service   
   (Ferrovie dello Stato shows its special attention to the poorest, with   
   different   
   initiatives of solidarity, both in the past and in the present", said Pope   
   Francis this morning, as he received in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall seven   
   thousand employees in the sector. He also commemorated the workers who lost   
   their lives during the construction of the country's rail network, expressing   
   his hope that accidents of this type may never be repeated.   
    The initiatives of solidarity Francis mentioned include the Help Centres   
   present in many Italian cities, which as well as offering help and advice to   
   those who find themselves in difficulty, also function as "antennae", which   
   "enable us to grasp the signs of what is happening around us, to perceive the   
   suffering of others, without remaining insensible to this. These centres are   
   way   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)