His Holiness took the opportunity to give us his Christmas list. There are only three things, so you should be able to get him every single one.
"My first wish... is that our gaze, that of our minds and our hearts, not rest only on the horizon of this world, on its material things, but that it in some way, like this tree that tends upward, be directed toward God. God never forgets us but He also asks that we don't forget Him."
I've often argued that Lent is the time we should give up something, and Advent is the time we should pick something up. The Church provides many opportunities to rest our gaze upon G-d. The Divine Office provides an excellent way to do that (which you can pray here for free), wherein your prayers are united with the Church in one accord. Or how long has it been since you prayed a Rosary? Pick one up, it's been a long time since you talked with your mother (plus, she's online here and here if you don't have a physical Rosary).
"My second wish is that we recall that we also need a light to illumine the path of our lives and to give us hope, especially in this time in which we feel so greatly the weight of difficulties, of problems, of suffering, and it seems that we are enshrouded in a veil of darkness. But what light can truly illuminate our hearts and give us a firm and sure hope? It is the Child whom we contemplate on Christmas, in a poor and humble manger, because He is the Lord who draws near to each of us and asks that we receive Him anew in our lives, asks us to want Him, to trust in Him, to feel His presence, that He is accompanying us, sustaining us, and helping us."
Go to Church, pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and give Him all of your burdens, cares, and worries. Offer them all up to the L-rd.
"But this great tree is formed of many lights. My final wish is that each of us contribute something of that light to the spheres in which we live: our families, our jobs, our neighbourhoods, towns, and cities. That each of us be a light for those who are at our sides; that we leave aside the selfishness that, so often, closes our hearts and leads us to think only of ourselves; that we may pay greater attention to others, that we may love them more. Any small gesture of goodness is like one of the lights of this great tree: together with other lights it illuminates the darkness of the night, even of the darkest night."
It is so easy to be a light to others. Give an extra $5 to the offering for the poor, take a friend out to lunch, sit down and just talk with someone, or send a little note in the mail to an acquaintance. If you don't want to do any of it yourself, at least put a little extra in the offering plate so the Church can!
We still have two weeks of Advent left, and I doubt the Pope would be upset if his Christmas gifts came as late as Epiphany or the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. So get on the ball and get it done!
If you are going to give the Pope the three things on his Christmas list (or even one or two of them!), what are you going to do? Have any other suggestions for fulfilling the Pope's Christmas wish list? Leave them in the Comments!
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