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December 2, 2024Dear Sisters and Brothers,
May the Lord give you Peace!
I reach you with this brief message of mine at the beginning of the new liturgical year with the holy time of Advent.
This year is a special Advent. In fact, these days of waiting lead us to the beginning of the Holy Year 2025 in which we remember with particular intensity the incarnation of the Lord Jesus: He came to dwell among us and continually comes to visit us.
Pope Francis will open the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve, while we will celebrate with all the other dioceses in the world the beginning of the Jubilee on 29th December.
I invite you in this time of Advent to return to my last pastoral letter, Joy and Jubilee, in which I dedicated the third chapter on how to prepare for the Holy Year of the Lord: Towards the Jubilee: a time of prayer.
The time of Advent is particularly favorable to rediscover the meaning of prayer. Advent is the time of waiting, it is the time in which we are invited to recognize our deepest needs, our highest desires and purify our hearts from sins and distractions that weigh us down.
During the time of Advent, we recognize the need to be saved and the desire for happiness and love that only God can offer us in Jesus Christ. The time of Advent is also a time of hope. We know that the Lord is faithful to his promise and will bring our longing to completion. The Lord comes and answers the deepest questions of our hearts. Hope and prayer always go together.
Jesus, as I recalled in the pastoral letter, invites us not only to pray every now and then, but constantly (Lk 18,1-8; 1 Thess 5:15-21; Rom 12:9-13), because we need to have our hearts always united with Jesus. Let us never tire of praying - Prayer changes life.
Living our days with our hearts always united with Jesus, changes the flavor of life. If our hearts never stop praying, we can face our days in serenity with the certainty of never being alone.
I therefore invite you in this Advent season to intensify your prayer, individually, in your family and in community. Pray often with simple prayers, several times a day.
Dear friends in Christ, prepare your heart to welcome Jesus who comes to live among us.
I wish you with all my heart a holy season of Advent.
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