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Christians called to proclaim Christ's message of peace, says Pope
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians awaiting the birth of Jesus, the prince of peace, must work to prepare a place for him in their hearts and in the world, Pope John Paul II said.

"In the face of continuing conflicts in the Holy Land, Afghanistan and other parts of the world, Christians are called to proclaim ever more insistently the message of peace sung by the angels in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago," the pope said Dec. 19 at his weekly general audience.

"Invoking the coming of him who brings peace to the world means docilely opening oneself to the liberating truth and renewing force of the Gospel," he said.

In the days closest to Christmas, he said, the Catholic liturgy gives voice to the world's longing for peace and salvation with increasingly urgent cries.

"At the same time, however, they clearly underline that this implies a concrete commitment to preparing a worthy dwelling place for him not only in our hearts, but also in the surrounding environment," the pope said.

"We must convert to peace; we must convert to Christ, our peace, certain that his disarming love in the manger will defeat every dark threat and violent plan," he said.

Believers must pray continually to the Baby Jesus that "the wonderful energy of his peace would dispel the hatred and vengeance that nests in the human soul. We must ask God that evil be defeated by good and by love," he said.

In special greetings to his Polish compatriots, Pope John Paul spoke about the tradition of breaking and sharing "oplatek," a thin bread, at Christmas.

"Sharing the bread is first of all the exchange of good wishes in the spirit of peace and love. But it also makes reference to the mystery of the Incarnation which occurred in Bethlehem, a name which means House of Bread, thereby expressing faith in the fact that the giver of true love and of true peace is the newborn son of God," the pope said.

The pope said that, as he breaks oplatek Christmas Eve, he would do so "entrusting to the Baby Jesus each and every one of you, your families, the communities of priests and religious and all those to whom you want to convey Christmas wishes in my name."

In connection with the audience, the last Pope John Paul would hold in 2001, the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household released statistics on the general audiences.

According to the prefecture, 550,000 people attended the Wednesday audiences in 2001, down dramatically from the more than 1.4 million visitors and pilgrims who attended the audiences during Holy Year 2000.

The pope held 43 Wednesday audiences in 2001, missing the appointments only when he was making a pastoral visit abroad and when he was on vacation in the northern Italian Alps.

The prefecture said that, since the beginning of his pontificate in 1978, the pope has hosted more than 16.5 million people at his Wednesday audiences.

 

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