Vatican City, Dec 9, 2007 / 09:55 am
Before reciting the Angelus at noon today, Pope Benedict XVI stressed that John the Baptist’s call to conversion speaks strongly to the "men and women of our time, who live and receive Christmas in such a way that unfortunately, they often suffer from a materialistic mentality. "
Thousands of pilgrims crowded into St. Peter's Square today to pray the Angelus with the Holy Father. Before praying the Angelus, he recalled the Gospel reading from today, the second Sunday of Advent, and noted that it calls us to "open [our] hearts and welcome the Son of God who comes into our midst to express divine justice."
"The Father," writes John the evangelist, does not judge anyone, but has given the Son the power to judge, because he is the Son of man. And it is today, the present, which determines our future destiny, it is in our particular behavior in this life that we decide our eternal fate, "said the Pontiff.
Continuing his reflection he said, "at the end of our days on earth, at the time of death, we will be judged according to our likeness or unlikeness with the child that is born in the poor cave of Bethlehem, because he is the standard of measure that God gave mankind."