Real Christmas gift is bringing joy to others, not gifts, pope says

Published: 2005-12-19

ROME (CNS) -- The real gift of Christmas is to bring joy to others, not expensive presents that waste both time and money, Pope Benedict XVI said Dec. 18 at Santa Maria Consolatrice Parish in Rome. Joy can be spread in any number of simple ways: "a smile, an act of kindness, a helping hand, forgiveness," he said. By bringing joy to others, joy will soon come back to those who gave it, he added. "Joy is the real gift of Christmas, not expensive things that cost time and money," the pope said during his first visit as pope to a Rome parish. Santa Maria Consolatrice Parish is located in a working-class neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Rome. The 60-year-old church had been the pope's titular church from 1977, when he was named a cardinal, until 1993. Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger frequently visited the parish to celebrate Mass and preside over confirmations. In his Dec. 18 homily, the pope thanked the nearly 1,000 parishioners for attending the Mass on the last Sunday in Advent and said his visit to the parish was "like coming home."

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