Pope Benedict XVI Says True Gift of Christmas Is Joy, Not Costly
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Pope Benedict XVI Says True Gift of Christmas Is Joy, Not Costly
Presents
By DANIELA PETROFF
The Associated Press
ROME - Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday that joy, and not a costly
present, is
the true gift of Christmas as he made his first visit as pontiff to a
Rome
parish.
"You should bring joy, not expensive gifts that cost time and money,"
Benedict said in a homily which he delivered without notes for about 15
minutes in a sometimes hoarse voice.
He also proposed joy as an antidote to the ills of society.
"In today's world, God is absent," Benedict said. "People need
anesthesia to
live. They live in a dark world."
Benedict said joy liberates people.
"With a smile, an act of kindness, a little help, forgiveness, you can
bring
joy, and that joy will come back to you," the pope said.
Benedict was keeping up a tradition cherished by his predecessor, John
Paul
II, who devoted many Sunday mornings to visiting Rome's parishes from
the
affluent historic center of the city to lower-class neighborhoods on
the
outskirts.
For his first visit, Benedict chose Santa Maria Consolatrice, a church
in a
working-class neighborhood near the outskirts. The church had been his
titular church as cardinal from 1977 to 1993.
He told the parishioners he was happy to return to their church. Before
heading back to the Vatican in an open-top car, he put on a long white
coat
to guard against the chill and stood on the steps of the church, where
he
wished the several thousand people outside "many, many wishes for a
Christmas and a happy New Year."
The atmosphere was warm as Benedict shook the hands of many
parishioners,
but less informal than John Paul's visits to churches in line with a
pontiff's role as Bishop of Rome.
John Paul, who died in April, made it to 301 out of Rome's 334
parishes,
often lingering to banter with children. When his health deteriorated
toward
the end of his papacy and the Sunday morning outings became too
strenuous
for him, John Paul started greeting parish groups at the Vatican.