We Become Messengers of God’s Comfort by Allowing Ourselves To Be Loved by Him

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis during the Angelus from the window of his studio above St Peter’s Square recalled the second Sunday of Advent, saying that it was a wonderful time that awakens in us the expectation of Christ’s return and a memory of his historic coming.

Focusing on the day’s liturgy the Holy Father said that it presents us with a hopeful message. Quoting the prophet Isaiah from the Book of Consolation, "Comfort, comfort my people," the Pope explained that this reading is about a time of joyful liberation and salvation, and a time of looking ahead with confidence to the future.

He went on to say that Isaiah addresses himself to a people that passed through a period of darkness, but that now the time for comfort had come.

Sadness and fear give way to joy, Pope Francis said, for the Lord himself leads his people on the path of liberation and salvation.

Yet the Pope also underlined that we cannot be messengers of God’s comfort if we do not experience the joy of being comforted and loved by Him.

This, he said, is especially the case when we listen to the Gospel, which, he stressed, people need to carry in their pocket.

Pope Francis noted that Isaiah’s message of comfort, which resounds on this second Sunday of Advent, is a balm on our wounds and an incentive to prepare diligently the way of the Lord.

Many situations, said the Pope, need our comforting witness. “I am thinking about those who are oppressed by suffering, injustice and oppression, about those who are slaves of money, power, success, and worldliness. We are all called to console our brothers, testifying that only God can eliminate the causes of existential and spiritual tragedies."

The prophet, he continued, "speaks to our hearts today in order to tell us that God forgets our sins and comforts us." If we entrust ourselves to Him a with humble and repentant heart, Pope Francis said, God will bring down the walls of evil, he will fill in the holes of our omissions, he will remove the bumps of pride and vanity, and will pave the way for our encouter with him.