On the day of his 81st birthday at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, Pope Francis Francis urged not to remove Jesus himself from the holiday of Christmas.

The corresponding video is posted on the official channel of the Vatican in Youtube.

Despite a special day, the pontiff did not say a word about his holiday, and only thanked the young people who sang loudly in the square and chanted: "Happy birthday to you!".

In particular, Francis did not cancel his traditional prayer Angelus Domini- "Angel of the Lord" - which he reads on Sundays from the window of his office, overlooking the main square of the Vatican.

Reflecting on the words of the apostle Paul, quoted this Sunday at the services in all Roman Catholic churches - "Always rejoice, pray unceasingly, give thanks for everything" - he told how to "prepare the way for the Lord" the week before his Christmas. Starting from the words of the apostle, the pontiff emphasized three key points in this preparation: joy, prayer and gratitude.

According to him, a Christian should "always remain in joy, even when things go wrong", despite the fact that "troubles, difficulties and sufferings exist in the life of every person, and often the surrounding reality seems to us unfriendly". "There is deep joy, that is, the world. The world is a joy of "zero level", but it's still a joy, "- said the Pope.

"The joy that characterizes the expectation of the Messiah is based on incessant prayer," he continued.. "Through prayer, we can enter into a lasting relationship with God, which is the source of true joy," said the head of the Catholic Church.

And, finally, he stressed how important it is to feel a sense of gratitude towards God, who is magnanimous, merciful and patient.

Pope Francis blessed the figures of the Child Jesus - the "bambinielli" - and then said: "When you pray at home, before the den, pay attention to the tenderness of the child Jesus, born poor and fragile among us, to give us his love. It's a real Christmas.. If we take away Jesus, what remains of Christmas? Empty party. Do not take Jesus out of Christmas! Jesus is the center of Christmas, Jesus is the real Christmas! "- he stressed.

Source: Browser.