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updated 11:54 AM UTC, Mar 20, 2024

The Meditations for Advent 2021

Vatican City. Br. Raniero Cardinal Cantalamessa, Preacher of the Papal Household for 41 years, during Advent once again offered meditations for the Holy Father and the Papal Household; for health reasons, to guarantee distancing due to the pandemic, he ‘broke open’ the Word in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall rather than in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel as was usually the case.

With the Holy Father present, the meditations began at 9:00 am for the three Fridays of Advent (i.e., December 3, 10 and 17). The Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and Prelates of the Pontifical Household were invited to participate.

Theme of the Meditation
“When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son”
Galatians 4.4

“Last Lent I tried to highlight the danger of living as if Christ did not exist. Continuing in this line, there follows an attempt to draw attention to another similar danger: that of living as if the Church were nothing but these: namely scandals, controversies, clashes of personalities, gossip or at most some merit in the social sphere. The intent is to highlight the interior splendor of the Church and of the Christian life. Not to close our eyes to reality in order to escape our responsibilities, but to face them with the right perspective and not allow ourselves to be crushed by them. We will be guided by one of the most recurrent liturgical texts in Advent, namely Galatians 4: 4-7. "

Father Raniero Cardinal Cantalamessa OFMCap
Preacher of the Papal Household

With Fr. Raniero’s consent, we made the texts of the three meditations available to the friars with translations in five languages.

Download the Meditations
Br. Raniero Card. Cantalamessa OFMCap – Advent, 2021

ItalianoIngleseSpagnoloFrancesePortoghese

Also this year, the three meditations were broadcast on both radio and TV and are also present on the internet.

The Meditations – Video recordings in Italian on Youtube:

Last modified on Saturday, 18 December 2021 00:17