For the last Sunday Angelus of 2018, 50,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square. Pope Francis mentioned his prayer intention for a certain country as the year comes to an end.
POPE FRANCIS
“Let us pray together for all those in the Democratic Republic of Congo who are suffering from because of violence and Ebola. I hope everyone is committed to maintaining a peaceful climate that allow a regular and peaceful carrying out of the elections. Let us pray together: 'Hail Mary...''
The DRC held historic elections on Sunday after years of delays. Yet due to the Ebola virus outbreak, they had banned at least one million people from voting and are facing rumored voting fraud. Now their Catholic bishops are working for peace after the voting, to avoid further protests and deaths.
Pope Francis also reflected on the Gospel of the day, how Jesus was missing for three days. The pope mentioned two elements to take away from the experience: anguish and amazement.
POPE FRANCIS
“That anguish they felt in the three days of the loss of Jesus should also be our anguish when we are far from Him, when we are far from Jesus. We should feel anguish when we forget about Jesus for more than three days, without praying, without read the Gospel.”
One the other hand, he said amazement is opening oneself to others and understanding them, even when problems exist.
POPE FRANCIS
“When there are problems in families, we assume that we are right and we close the door to others. Instead, we must think, 'What is good about this person?' and marvel at this 'good.' This helps the unity of the family.”
On the feast of the Holy Family, he gave a warm greeting to all families present. Pope Francis asked prayers for all of them around the world, especially those lacking peace and harmony.
