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Pope Francis’ Address to the Employees of the Vatican City State
Paul VI Auditorium- Thursday, 21 December 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Christmas brings us together to exchange greetings. Thank you for coming, also with your families!
As we contemplate together the mystery of the birth of Jesus, it is beautiful to be able to grasp the style of God, which is not grandiose or loud but, on the contrary, is the style of hiddenness and smallness.
Two important words: hiddenness and smallness.
They convey to us the meekness of God, who does not come to us to frighten us with His splendor but who makes Himself present in the most ordinary way possible, by becoming one of us.
Hiddenness and smallness.
God hides himself in the smallness of a child born, to a couple – Mary and Joseph –far from the limelight, in the poverty of a stable because there was no room for them in the inn.
These are the characteristics of the Son of God, who will then present himself to the world as a tiny seed that dies, hidden in the earth, to bear fruit.
He is the God of the small and of the least, and with him, we all learn the way to go to enter the Kingdom of God: ot with an open and artificial religiosity, but by becoming small, like children.
You, dear friends, know these two words well.
Your work here in the Vatican is carried out mostly in daily obscurity, often in pursuit of things that may seem insignificant but which instead contribute to offering a service to the Church and to society.
I thank you for this, and I hope that you will be able to continue your work with a spirit of gratitude, with serenity and humility, and that you will be able to give Christian witness, especially in your relations with your colleagues.
Here too, yes, especially here, there is a need – isn’t there? – for this Christian witness.
Look at the hiddenness and smallness of Jesus in the manger; look at the simplicity of the Nativity scene; and be sure that goodness, even when it is hidden and invisible, grows without making noise. Goodness grows without making noise, it multiplies in an unexpected way, and spreads the perfume of joy. Do not forget that goodness grows without making noise and gives that peace, that joy in the heart, which is so beautiful.
I would like to wish this style – hiddenness and smallness – also for your families and your children too. Today we live in a time that sometimes seems obsessed with appearance; everyone tries to showcase themselves. To be seen, especially through the so-called social media. It is a bit like wanting precious crystal glasses without caring if the wine is good. Good wine is drunk in an ordinary glass. But in the family, appearances and masks do not count – in the family everything is known – or at lease they do not last long; what counts is that the good wine of love, tenderness, and mutual compassion is not lacking.
And this is God’s style: closeness, compassion and tenderness.
And love – as we well know – does not make noise. We live it in the hiddenness and smallness of daily gestures, of the attention we know how to exchange.
This is what I wish for you: to be attentive, in your homes and in your families, to the small everyday things, to the small gestures of gratitude, to the thoughtfulness of care.
When we look at the nativity scene, we can imagine the care, the tenderness of Mary and Joseph for the Child who was born. This is the style I wish for all of you.
Dear sisters and dear brothers, I wish you all the best for a holy Christmas.
I also wish this to your children, to your relatives, to the elderly who live with you, and especially to your loved ones who are sick.
Brothers and sisters, let us open our hearts to joy: the Lord is coming in our midst!
Merry Christmas to you all! And please, pray for me. Thank you very much!
