On the second Sunday of Advent, Pope Francis prayed the Angelus in St. Peter's Square in front of 20,000 pilgrims. It's a time, he said, to “fill the valleys and mend fences.”
POPE FRANCIS
“Advent is the favorable moment to pray with more intensity, to give to the spiritual life the important place it deserves. Another void might be our lack of charity towards our neighbor, especially towards those most in need of help, not only material but also spiritual.”
Pope Francis asked Christians to abandon selfish attitudes and tear down, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “every mountain and hill” to demonstrate humility during Advent.
POPE FRANCIS
“The mountains and hills that must be made low are pride, haughtiness and arrogance. Where there is pride, where there is arrogance, where there is haughtiness the Lord can’t enter because that heart is full of pride.”
To conclude, Pope Francis reminded the attendees that the Nobel Peace Prize would be awarded that same day to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. The Holy Father is especially concerned about the issue.
POPE FRANCIS
“To be committed to the protection of the dignity of all people, in particular, the weakest and most disadvantaged means also to work with determination to build a world without nuclear weapons.”
The pope expressed his closeness to India and the state of Kerala hit by cyclone Okhi, which left 239 people dead and 167 still missing.
