Pope Urges Faithful to Look Beyond Christmas 'Superficial Glitter' in Midnight Mass

[troung]

Seriously

Pope Urges Faithful to Look Beyond Christmas 'Superficial Glitter' in Midnight Mass

Published December 24, 2011



Dec. 24, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI kneels in prayer as he celebrates Christmas Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI decried the increasing commercialization of Christmas as he celebrated Christmas Eve Mass on Saturday night, urging the faithful to look beyond the holiday's "superficial glitter" to discover its true meaning.

Benedict presided over the service in a packed St. Peter's Basilica, kicking off an intense two weeks of Christmas-related public appearances that will test the 84-year-old pontiff's stamina amid signs that fatigue is starting to slow him down.

The Christmas Eve Mass was moved up to 10 p.m. from midnight several years ago to spare the pope a late night that is followed by an important Christmas Day speech. In a new concession this year, Benedict processed down the basilica's central aisle on a moving platform to spare him the long walk.

Benedict appeared tired by the end of the Mass and a dry cough interrupted his homily.

In his homily, Benedict lamented that Christmas has become an increasingly commercial celebration that obscures the simplicity of the message of Christ's birth.

"Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light," he said.

It was the second time in as many days that Benedict has pointed to the need to rediscover faith to confront the problems facing the world today. In his end-of-year meeting with Vatican officials on Thursday, Benedict said Europe's financial crisis was largely "based on the ethical crisis looming over the Old Continent."

Benedict officially kicked off Christmas a few hours before the evening Mass, lighting a candle in his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square in a sign of peace, as crowds gathered to witness the unveiling of the Vatican's larger-than-life sized nativity scene.

Security was tight for the evening Mass, as it has been in recent years. There were no repeats of the 2008 and 2009 Christmas Eve security breaches, in which a woman with a history of psychiatric problems and wearing a telltale red sweat shirt jumped the wooden security barrier along the basilica's central aisle and lunged for the pope.

In 2008, the pope's security detail blocked her from getting to Benedict. But in 2009, she managed to grab Benedict's vestments and pulled him to the ground. The pope was unhurt and continued along with the service, but a French cardinal who was nearby fell and broke his hip.

On Sunday, Benedict will deliver his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" speech, Latin for "to the city and the world," from the central loggia of St. Peter's overlooking the piazza. Usually, the speech is a survey of sorts of the hardships and wars confronting humanity. He's also due to deliver Christmas greetings in dozens of languages.

Next weekend, he'll preside over a New Year's Eve vespers service, followed by a New Year's Day Mass. A few days later he'll celebrate Epiphany Mass followed by his traditional baptizing of babies in the Vatican's frescoed Sistine Chapel.

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[crooks]

Ahh yes, a man with a gold brocade and a golden book on a golden throne critizing others for commericalism and being obsessed with trinkets.

He's right that vapid, empty commercialism has replaced a large part of the far more valuable instincts towards brotherhood, cooperation and self-fulfillment via work and love instead of the iPad 2, but meh. As someone who is a total athiest but still in thought and temperament a cultural Catholic (certainly relative to the "Protestant" way of thinking) the Church has many values that should be defended and are fully worthy of the Kingdom of God, but then it goes and pisses all over them in actual actions. We have to judge by deeds, not words, and on that Ratzi has work to do, in cleansing his Church of paedophiles, liars, coveters, embezzlers and gluttons for example.

[tankie]

We have to judge by deeds, not words, and on that Ratzi has work to do, in cleansing his Church of paedophiles, liars, coveters, embezzlers and gluttons for example.

Right beside ya m8y

Who's the newbie worldboy wots he got zapped for ??

[bonehead]

Sure. Wait until everyone has already spent their money before coming up with this message. As usual the pope is a day late and a dollar short.