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                               VIS-Press releases

INTENSE PARTICIPATION IN THE MYSTERIES OF CHRISTMASTIME

VATICAN CITY, 5 JAN 2011 (VIS) - In his first general audience of 2011,
celebrated this morning in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope spoke on the subject of
Christmas which, he said, "continues to fascinate today as in the past, ...
because everyone in one way or another is intuitively aware that the birth of
Jesus concerns man's most profound aspirations and hopes".

"In the liturgical celebrations of these holy days we have experienced, in a
way that is mysterious yet real, the Son of God's entry into the world, and we
have once again been illuminated by the light of His splendour. Each
celebration is the real presence of the mystery of Christ and a prolongation of
the history of salvation".

"Celebrating the events of the incarnation of the Son of God does not simply
mean a recollection of past events", said the Holy Father, "it
means causing
the salvific mysteries to be present. In the liturgy, in the celebration of the
Sacraments those mysteries become real, they become effective for us today".

"Christmas represents the first fruit of the 'sacramentum-mysterium paschale' -
in other words, the beginning of the central mystery of salvation which
culminates in the passion, death and resurrection - because Jesus began the
giving of Himself for love from the very first instant of His human existence,
in the womb of the Virgin Mary. ... The nativity scene, as an image of the
incarnation of the Word, in the light of the Gospel account, already alludes to
Easter".

"Incarnation and Easter are not adjacent to one another, yet they are the two
key inseparable points of the one faith in Jesus Christ, Son of God Incarnate
and Redeemer. The Cross and the Resurrection presuppose the Incarnation. ... In
this unitary vision of the Mystery of Christ, visiting the nativity scene leads
us to visiting the Eucharist where we encounter the real presence of the
crucified and risen Christ, the living Christ.

"The liturgical celebration of Christmas, then, is not just a recollection, but
above all a mystery", Pope Benedict added, "it is not just a
memory but also a
presence. To understand the meaning of these two inseparable aspects, it is
important to live the Christmas period intensely, as the Church presents it".

"It is necessary to liberate this Christmas period from an overly moralistic
and sentimental wrapping. The celebration of Christmas does not only present us
with examples to imitate, such as the humility and poverty of the Lord, His
benevolence and love for mankind; rather it is an invitation to let oneself be
transformed totally by the One Who entered our flesh".

"The aim of God becoming manifest was that we might participate in divine life,
and that the mystery of His incarnation might be realised in us. This mystery
is the fulfilment of man's vocation", said the Holy Father.

He concluded his catechesis by inviting people to "live this Christmas period
with intensity. After having adored the Son of God made man lying in the
manger, we are called to move on to the altar of the sacrifice where Christ,
the living Bread Who descended from heaven, offers Himself to us as true
nourishment for eternal life. We have seen this with our own eyes, at the table
of the Word and the Bread of Life, we have contemplated it and touched it with
our hands: the Word made flesh. Let us announce it joyfully to the world and
bear generous witness to it with all our lives".
AG/VIS 20110105 (600)

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