#ChristmasEve Mass from the Vatican was really depressing & strange in the way of 2020. Perhaps it would have been unseemly in a year when so many have died to be too celebratory. But Pope Francis seemed deeply sad. And had restricted the gathering, which is usually thousands.
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Pope Francis had limited the number of people to 100 with the number of cardinals at only 30. The effect in the world's largest church was sparse and austere. Francis used one of the small side altars. There were none of the intl readings there usually are each Christmas.
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There were only a handful of children. None of the delegations from other countries like usual. Pope Francis's homily was about the metaphor of #Christmas as our rebirth in Christ. It was also about his consistent themes of helping the poor, the sick and the vulnerable.
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The message of helping one another during this #pandemic was over-arching and appropriate. Pope Francis said repeatedly that Jesus came as a poor baby to teach us to be patient, kind and caring. And to understand our complaints are nothing compared to some others'. It was good
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But the sadness of it was painful. And so the whole year with all its losses really was like a scrim over the entire service, reminding us that faith is never easy, that serving G-d through seeing Jesus in the suffering of others is our mission. And that we must do better.
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That Pope Francis specifically mentioned the American #COVID dead from the altar was telling. 1 in 4 Americans is Catholic, but it seemed more that he felt someone needed to speak for our dead and their families as Trump never has.
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As a Catholic, I felt Francis's words resonate: they were poweful & poignant. It's easy to see G-d speaking through him--the clarity of thought & empathy as he told us "G-d loves us so much." There is nothing we need to hear more than that at this time: That we are cherished.
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