The Rev. James Martin, S.J., leads listeners through a guided reflection on prayer during the Advent season.

Prophets are those people who through gentleness or annoyance (or some combination of the two) have called us to who we really are and pointed to where we were supposed to go.

"When, at Christmas, we place the statue of the Infant Jesus in the manger, the nativity scene suddenly comes alive. God appears as a child, for us to take into our arms," the pope said.

“Consumerism is a virus that attacks the faith at its roots, because it makes you believe that life depends only on what you have, and so you forget God," the pope said.

Yes, your hopes might be frustrated, but that is better than trying to extinguish hope in God.