Choose simplicity and kindness over greed and consumerism, says Pope Francis at Christmas Mass

In the midnight Mass on Christmas at St Peter’s Basilica on Monday, Pope Francis called on people to forego greed and gluttony for simplicity and kindness. He said that at a time of the year, driven by consumerism and individualism, people should treat those in need with acts of generosity and kindness.

“In our day, for many people, life’s meaning is found in possessing, in having an excess of material objects. An insatiable greed marks all human history, even today, when, paradoxically, a few dine luxuriantly while all too many go without the daily bread needed to survive,” the 82-year-old Pope said.

The Pope also spoke about the risk of Chirstmas becoming a mundane holiday event centred around any other celebration as opposed to focusing on the birth of Jesus.

At the audience in the Paul VI hall, the Pontiff, head of the 1.3-billion-strong Catholic community, rejected the "noise of consumerism", adding that the occasion ought to mark the triumph of humility over arrogance, simplicity over abundance.

“Let us ask ourselves: Do I really need all these material objects and complicated recipes for living? Can I manage without all these unnecessary extras and live a life of greater simplicity?” Pope Francis, the first pontiff from Latin America who has made defending the poor a hallmark of his papacy, said.

"During these days we rush around perhaps more than at other times of the year," he said. "But this is the opposite of what Jesus would want,” he went on.

The Pope urged believers to avoid being blinded by gifts and food, and instead suggested charity by helping someone in need.

In his homily, Francis said the infant Jesus, born in poverty in a stable, should make everyone, particularly those who have become “greedy and voracious,” reflect on the real meaning of life.

The Vatican announced that the Pope had given the homeless in Rome a Christmas gift of a new clinic in St. Peter’s Square where they can get free medical help.

The Christmas Eve papal Mass was held with a new, energy-saving lighting system for the largest church in Christendom. It employs 100,000 LEDs (light emitting diodes), and uses only 10 per cent of the energy of the previous system.

(With agency inputs)