"For it to really be Christmas, let's not forget this: God comes to be with us and asks us to take care of our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest, weakest and most fragile, whom the pandemic risks marginalizing even more".
This is the reflection, entrusted to Twitter, of Pope Francis, before the celebration of the Mass on Christmas Eve, in St. Peter's Basilica, broadcast worldwide.
As already last year, the time of mass was brought forward to 19.30 and also in the Basilica, where seats for 1,500 people were set up (St. Peter's can hold about seven thousand), access was limited to allow compliance with the distances.
To concelebrate the liturgy with the pontiff 26 cardinals, 18 bishops and 160 priests.
"Jesus was born there, close to the shepherds, close to the forgotten of the suburbs", the Pope later said during the Christmas Eve mass. “It comes where the dignity of man is put to the test. He comes to ennoble the excluded and reveals himself above all to them: not to educated and important people, but to poor people who worked ", he added. And again:" Tonight God comes to fill the hardness of work with dignity. It reminds us how important it is to give dignity to man with work, but also to 'give dignity to man's work', because man is a lord and not a slave to work. On the day of life we repeat: no more deaths at work! And let's commit ourselves to this ".
On Christmas day, however, at noon, the Christmas message and the Blessing “Urbi et Orbi, in this case outside the central Loggia of San Pietro.
(Unioneonline / lf)
