Spiritual meaning of Christmas

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

On this very day, the days of Advent that directly prepare us for the Nativity of the Lord begin: we are in the Christmas Novena which in many Christian communities is celebrated with liturgies rich in biblical texts, all oriented to fostering the expectation of the Saviour's Birth. Indeed, the whole Church focuses her gaze of faith on this Feast that is now at hand, preparing herself, as she does every year, to join in the joyful singing of the Angels who will announce to the shepherds in the heart of the night the extraordinary event of the Birth of the Redeemer, inviting them to go to the Grotto in Bethlehem. It is there that the Emmanuel lies, the Creator who made himself a creature, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a poor manger (cf. Lk 2: 13-16). 

Because of the atmosphere that distinguishes it, Christmas is a universal celebration. In fact, even those who do not profess themselves to be believers can perceive in this annual Christian event something extraordinary and transcendent, something intimate that speaks to the heart. It is a Feast that praises the gift of life. The birth of a child must always be an event that brings joy; the embrace of a newborn baby usually inspires feelings of kindness and care, of emotion and tenderness. Christmas is the encounter with a newborn baby lying in a humble grotto. In contemplating him in the manger, how can we fail to think of all those children who continue to be born today in great poverty in many regions of the world? How can we fail to think of those newborn infants who are not welcomed, who are rejected, who do not manage to survive because of the lack of care and attention? How can we fail to think also of the families who long for the joy of a child and do not see their hope fulfilled? Unfortunately, under the influence of hedonist consumerism Christmas risks losing its spiritual meaning and being reduced to a mere commercial opportunity for purchases and the exchange of gifts! However, it is true that the difficulties, the uncertainties and the financial crisis itself that numerous families have had to come to terms with in recent months and which is affecting all humanity could be an incentive to rediscover the warmth of simplicity, friendship and solidarity: typical values of Christmas. Stripped of its consumerist and materialistic encrustations, Christmas can thus become an opportunity for welcoming, as a personal gift, the message of hope that emanates from the mystery of Christ's Birth. 

However, none of this enables us to fully grasp the ineffable value of the Feast for which we are preparing. We know that it celebrates the central event of history: the Incarnation of the divine Word for the redemption of humanity. In one of his many Christmas Homilies, St Leo the Great exclaims: "Let us be glad in the Lord, dearly-beloved, and rejoice with spiritual joy that there has dawned for us the day of ever-new redemption, of ancient preparation, of eternal bliss. For as the year rolls round, there recurs for us the commemoration of our salvation, which promised from the beginning, accomplished in the fullness of time will endure for ever" (Homily XXII). St Paul returns several times in his Letters to this fundamental truth. For example, he writes to the Galatians: "When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law... so that we might receive adoption as sons" (4: 4). In the Letter to the Romans he highlights the logic and the demanding consequences of this salvific event: "If we are children of God... then [we are] heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him" (8: 17). However, in the Prologue to the fourth Gospel, it is above all St John who meditates profoundly on the mystery of the Incarnation. And it is for this reason that the Prologue has been part of the Christmas liturgy since the very earliest times. Indeed, in it are found the most authentic expression and the most profound synthesis of this Feast and of the basis of its joy. St John writes: "Et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis / and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (Jn 1: 14). 

At Christmas, therefore, we do not limit ourselves to commemorating the birth of a great figure: we do not simply and abstractly celebrate the birth of the man or in general the mystery of life; even less do we celebrate only the beginning of the new season. At Christmas we commemorate something very tangible and important for mankind, something essential for the Christian faith, a truth that St John sums up in these few words: "The Word became flesh". This was a historical event that the Evangelist Luke was concerned to situate in a well-defined context: in the days when the decree was issued for the first census of Caesar Augustus, when Quirinius was Governor of Syria (cf. Lk 2: 1-7). Therefore, it was on a historically dated night that the event of salvation occurred for which Israel had been waiting for centuries. In the darkness of the night of Bethlehem a great light really was lit: the Creator of the universe became flesh, uniting himself indissolubly with human nature so as truly to be "God from God, Light from Light" yet at the same time a man, true man. What John calls in Greek "ho logos" translated into Latin as "Verbum" and Italian as "il Verbo" also means "the Meaning". Thus we can understand John's words as: the "eternal Meaning" of the world made himself tangible to our senses and our minds: we may now touch him and contemplate him (cf. 1 Jn 1: 1). The "Meaning" that became flesh is not merely a general idea inherent in the world; it is a "Word" addressed to us. The Logos knows us, calls us, guides us. The Word is not a universal law within which we play some role, but rather a Person who is concerned with every individual person: he is the Son of the living God who became man in Bethlehem. 

To many people, and in a certain way to all of us, this seems too beautiful to be true. In fact, here it is reaffirmed to us: yes, a meaning exists, and the meaning is not a powerless protest against the absurd. The meaning has power: it is God. A good God who must not be confused with any sublime and remote being, whom it would never be possible to reach, but a God who made himself our neighbour and who is very close to us, who has time for each one of us and who came to stay with us. It then comes naturally to ask ourselves: "However could such a thing be possible? Is it dignified for God to make himself a child?". If we are to seek to open our hearts to this truth that illuminates the whole of human existence we must bend our minds and recognize the limitations of our intelligence. In the Grotto of Bethlehem God shows himself to us as a humble "infant" to defeat our arrogance. Perhaps we would have submitted more easily to power and wisdom, but he does not want us to submit; rather, he appeals to our hearts and to our free decision to accept his love. He made himself tiny to set us free from that human claim to grandeur that results from pride. He became flesh freely in order to set us truly free, free to love him. 

Dear brothers and sisters, Christmas is a privileged opportunity to meditate on the meaning and value of our existence. The approach of this Solemnity helps us on the one hand to reflect on the drama of history in which people, injured by sin, are perennially in search of happiness and of a fulfilling sense of life and death; and on the other, it urges us to meditate on the merciful kindness of God who came to man to communicate to him directly the Truth that saves, and to enable him to partake in his friendship and his life. Therefore let us prepare ourselves for Christmas with humility and simplicity, making ourselves ready to receive as a gift the light, joy and peace that shine from this mystery. Let us welcome the Nativity of Christ as an event that can renew our lives today. The encounter with the Child Jesus makes us people who do not think only of themselves but open themselves to the expectations and needs of their brothers and sisters. In this way we too will become witnesses of the radiance of Christmas that shines on the humanity of the third millennium. Let us ask Mary Most Holy, Tabernacle of the Incarnate Word, and St Joseph, the silent witness of the events of salvation, to communicate to us what they felt while they were waiting for the Birth of Jesus, so that we may prepare ourselves to celebrate with holiness the approaching Christmas, in the joy of faith and inspired by the commitment to sincere conversion. 

Happy Christmas to you all!

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 17 December 2008]

1. In the previous catechesis we showed, on the basis of the synoptic Gospels, how faith in the divine sonship of Christ is being formed by revelation of the Father in the consciousness of his disciples and listeners, and first of all in the consciousness of the apostles. To create the conviction that Jesus is the Son of God in the strict and full (not metaphorical) sense of this word, contributes above all the testimony of the Father himself, who "reveals" in Christ his Son ("my Son") through the theophanies that took place at the baptism in the Jordan and then during the transfiguration on the mountain. We have also seen how the revelation of the truth about the divine sonship of Jesus reaches through the work of the Father the minds and hearts of the apostles, as appears in the words of Jesus to Peter: "Neither flesh nor blood has revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 16:17).

2. In the light of this faith in the divine sonship of Christ, a faith that gained much greater strength after the resurrection, one must read the entire Gospel of John, and particularly its Prologue (Jn 1:1-18). It is a singular synthesis expressing the faith of the apostolic Church: of that first generation of disciples, to whom it was given to have contact with Christ, either directly or through the apostles who spoke of what they had personally heard and seen and in whom they discovered the fulfilment of all that the Old Testament had foretold about him. What had already been revealed previously, but in a certain sense was covered with a veil, now, in the light of the facts of Jesus, and especially on the basis of the Easter events, gained transparency, became clear and comprehensible.

In this way, the Gospel of John (which among the four Gospels was written last) constitutes in a sense the most complete account of Christ as the Son of God - Son 'consubstantial' with the Father. The Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus to the apostles, who was to "teach them all things" (cf. Jn 14:26), truly enables the evangelist "to fathom the depths of God" (cf. 1 Cor 2:10) and express them in the inspired text of the Prologue.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God: all things were made through him, and without him nothing was made of all that exists" (Jn 1:1-3). "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (Jn 1:14) . . . "He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognise him. He came among his people, but his own did not receive him" (Jn 1:10-11). "To those, however, who did receive him, he gave power to become children of God: to those who believe in his name, who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (Jn 1:12-13). "God no one has ever seen: it is the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, who has revealed him" (Jn 1:18).

4. John's Prologue is certainly the key text, in which the truth about Christ's divine sonship finds its full expression. He who in time "became flesh", that is, man, is from eternity the Word Himself, that is, the only-begotten Son: the God "who is in the bosom of the Father". He is the Son "of the same substance as the Father", he is "God from God". From the Father he receives the fullness of glory. He is the Word "through whom all things were made". And therefore everything that exists owes to him that "beginning" of which the Book of Genesis (cf. Gen 1:1) speaks, the beginning of the work of creation. The same eternal Son, when he comes into the world as the "Word who became flesh" brings with him to humanity the fullness "of grace and truth". He brings the fullness of truth because he instructs about the true God whom "no one has ever seen". And he brings the fullness of grace because to all who receive him, he gives the strength to be born again of God: to become children of God. Unfortunately, the evangelist notes, "the world did not recognise him" and although "he came among his people", many "did not receive him".

5. The truth contained in the Johannine Prologue is the same truth we find in other books of the New Testament. Thus for example we read in the Epistle "to the Hebrews" that God "in these days has spoken to us through his Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he also made the world. This Son, who is the radiance of his glory and the stamp of his substance, and who upholds all things by the power of his word, after he has cleansed us from sins, is seated at the right hand of the majesty in the highest heaven" (Heb 1:2-3).

6. The Prologue of the Gospel of John (like the Epistle to the Hebrews), therefore expresses in the form of biblical allusions, the fulfilment in Christ of all that was said in the old covenant, beginning with the Book of Genesis through the law of Moses (cf. Jn 1:17) and the prophets to the books of wisdom. The expression "the Word" (who "in the beginning was with God") corresponds to the Hebrew word "dabar". Although the term 'logos' is found in Greek, the matrix is first and foremost Old Testament. From the Old Testament it simultaneously borrows two dimensions: that of "hochma" (wisdom), understood as God's "plan" regarding creation, and that of "dabar" (logos), understood as the realisation of that plan. The coincidence with the word 'logos', taken from Greek philosophy, facilitated the approach of these truths to minds formed by that philosophy.

7. Remaining now within the sphere of the Old Testament, precisely in Isaiah we read: the "word that came forth from my mouth shall not return to me without effect, without having done what I desire and without having accomplished that for which I sent it" (Is 55:11). Hence it appears that the biblical "dabar-word" is not only "word" but also "fulfilment" (deed). It can be said that already in the books of the old covenant there appears some personification of the "Word" (dabar, logos), as well as of "Wisdom" (sofia).

Indeed, we read in the Book of Wisdom:

(Wisdom) "is initiated into the knowledge of God and chooses his works" (Wis 8:4), and elsewhere: "With you is Wisdom, who knows your works, who was present when you created the world; she knows what is pleasing to your eyes and what is conformable . . . Send her from the holy heavens, from your glorious throne, that she may assist me and be with me in my labour, and that I may know what is pleasing to you" (Wis 9:9-10).

8. We are thus very close to the first words of John's Prologue. Even closer are those verses from the Book of Wisdom that say: "While a profound silence enveloped all things, and the night was in the middle of its course, your almighty word from heaven, from your royal throne . . . came into the midst of that land of extermination, bearing as a sharp sword your inexorable command" (Wis 18:14-15). However, this "word" alluded to in the wisdom books, that wisdom which from the beginning is with God, is considered in relation to the created world that it orders and directs (cf. Prov 8:22-27). "The Word" in John's Gospel, on the other hand, is not only "in the beginning", but is revealed as being all addressed to God (pros ton Theon) and being himself God! "The Word was God". He is the 'only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father'-that is, God-the-Son. He is in person the pure expression of God, the "radiation of his glory" (cf. Heb 1:3), "consubstantial with the Father".

9. It is precisely this Son - the Word who became flesh - to whom John bears witness at the Jordan. Of John the Baptist we read in the Prologue: "There came a man sent from God, and his name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness to the light . . ." (Jn 1:6-7). That light is precisely Christ - as the Word. We read again in the Prologue: "In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (Jn 1:4). This is "the true light, the light that enlightens every man" (Jn 1:9). The light that "shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not receive it" (Jn 1:5).

Therefore, according to the Prologue of John's Gospel, Jesus Christ is God, because He is the only-begotten Son of God the Father. The Word. He comes into the world as the source of life and holiness. Truly here we are at the central and decisive point of our profession of faith: 'The Word became flesh and came to dwell among us'.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 3 June 1987]

The Word of God does not offer us an episode from the life of Jesus, but rather it tells us about him before he was born. It takes us back to reveal something about Jesus before he came among us. It does so especially in the prologue of the Gospel of John, which begins: “In the beginning was the Word” (Jn 1:1). In the beginning: are the first words of the Bible, the same words with which the creation account begins: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). Today, the Gospel says that Jesus, the One we contemplated in his Nativity, as an infant, existed before: before things began, before the universe, before everything. He existed before space and time. “In him was life” (Jn 1:4), before life appeared.

Saint John calls Him the Verbum, that is, the Word. What does he mean by this? The word is used to communicate: one does not speak alone, one speaks to someone. One always speaks to someone. When we are in the street and we see people who talk to themselves, we say, “This person, something has happened to him...”. No, we always speak to someone. Now, the fact that Jesus was the Word from the very beginning means that from the beginning God wants to communicate with us. He wants to talk to us. The only-begotten Son of the Father (cf. v.14) wants to tell us about the beauty of being children of God; He is “the true light” (v. 9) and wants to keep us distant from the darkness of evil; He is “the life” (v. 4), who knows our lives and wants to tell us that he has always loved them. He loves us all. Here is today’s wondrous message: Jesus is the Word, the eternal Word of God, who has always thought of us and wanted to communicate with us.

And to do so, he went beyond words. In fact, at the heart of today’s Gospel we are told that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (v. 14). The Word became flesh : why does Saint John use this expression “flesh”? Could he not have said, in a more elegant way, that the Word was made man ? No, he uses the word flesh because it indicates our human condition in all its weakness, in all its frailty. He tells us that God became fragile so he could touch our fragility up close. Thus, from the moment the Lord became flesh, nothing about our life is extraneous to him. There is nothing that he scorns, we can share everything with him, everything. Dear brother, dear sister, God became flesh to tell us, to tell you that he loves you right there, that he loves us right  there, in our frailties, in your frailties; right there, where we are most ashamed, where you are most ashamed. This is bold, God’s decision is bold: He became flesh precisely where very often we are ashamed; He enters into our shame, to become our brother, to share the path of life.

He became flesh  and never turned back. He did not put on our humanity like a garment that can be put on and taken off. No, he never detached himself from our flesh. And he will never be separated from it: now and forever he is in heaven with his body made of human flesh. He has united himself forever to our humanity; we might say that he “espoused” himself to it. I like to think that when the Lord prays to the Father for us, he does not merely speak: he shows him the wounds of the flesh, he shows him the wounds he suffered for us. This is Jesus: with his flesh he is the intercessor, he wanted to bear even the signs of suffering. Jesus, with his flesh, is before the Father. Indeed, the Gospel says that He came to dwell among us . He did not come to visit us, and then leave; He came to dwell with us, to stay with us. What, then, does he desire from us? He desires a great intimacy. He wants us to share with him our joys and sufferings, desires and fears, hopes and sorrows, people and situations. Let us do this, with confidence: let us open our hearts to him, let us tell him everything. Let us pause in silence before the Nativity scene to savour the tenderness of God who became near, who became flesh. And without fear, let us invite him among us, into our homes, into our families. And also — everyone knows this well — let us invite him into our frailties. Let us invite him, so that he may see our wounds. He will come and life will change.

May the Holy Mother of God, in whom the Word became flesh, help us to welcome Jesus, who knocks on the door of our hearts to dwell with us.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 3 January 2021]

Church of the little ones: Challenge and recognised course

Lk 2:36-40 (22-40)

The Gospel passage from Lk recounts the Father's surprising response to the predictions of fulfilment regarding the messianic prophecies.

An eloquent and peremptory manifestation of the power of the God of Israel, and the submission of those who did not fulfil the Law was expected.

Everyone imagined witnessing the triumphal entry of a leader - surrounded by military leaders or angelic hosts (Mal 3:1) - who would subjugate the pagans by bringing their possessions into the holy city, grant the chosen people many slaves, and impose observance.

Jesus? There He is in the Temple, but helpless and accompanied by insignificant people.

Nobody notices Him, although at all hours the holy place was swarming with visitors.

Then arise here Simeon and Hanna (vv.25.36-38), men and women coryphaeans of the most sensitive authentic People.

They grasp a Clarity that produces conflict with habitual officialdom, a profound Splendour destined for all time.

And the «sword» (v.35) that in Mother Israel will bring about lacerations: between some who open up to the new Light, and others who conversely entrench.

Lk is evaluating community situations, where believers in Christ are discarded by friends and families from different cultural backgrounds (cf. Lk 12:51-53).

But the awaited and true Messiah must be delivered to the world - although those best prepared to recognize him are the members of tribe of Israel the smallest [Asher, in the figure of Hanna: vv.36-38].

These are the same prophets who vibrated in life for one great Love (vv.36-37), then experienced the absence of the Beloved - until they recognised him in Christ. By startling in surprise - catching very personal correspondences within themselves, in Spirit; rejoicing, praising the Gift of God (v.38).

The passage concludes with the return to Nazareth (vv.39-40) and the note concerning Jesus' own growth «in wisdom, stature and grace».

We, too, are not in the world to cling to shadows and blockages, the same old moods, the same prevailing thoughts, the same way of doing (even the little things).

Mechanisms and comparisons that close our days, our whole lives and the emotional space of passions - clipping the wings of testimonies that want to override the 'recognised course'.

Let us sweep away the layers of dust that still cover us with conformism and proven manners, which follow expectations of others, of contours, of external intrusive conditions!

This is precisely the great Challenge that activates the young rebirth of the Dream of God.

It can launch the soul in the transition from the common religious sense to a new Torch: personal, pro-active, liberating Faith.

Relationship of love that does not extinguish us.

[December 30, sixth day between the Octave of Christmas]

Without stopping in the middle, and without fashion. New Light

(Mal 3:1-4; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40)

The context of Mal 3:1-4 is harrowing: the priests had reduced the temple to a bank; the professional worshippers were acting as functionaries, disregarding sincere adherence.

That Child is a reminder that God ceaselessly comes with his smoldering fire (Mal 3:2-3) not only to work a purification, an improvement, an enhancement, a mending, a mending, a parenthesis.

It does not burst in to make the same reality more current, or the identical formal and condescending contents more sympathetic. It comes to replace them.

It does not come to refine, but to open up. It comes not to affect, but to supplant. Not to bless tamed situations, but to denounce them.

Perhaps He comes to return us to the "ancient days", to the "distant years" - but not as imagined by Mal 3:4 - but to fly over the same swamp of the usual religion, the one with its head always turned back to investigate the past.

Nor does he advocate abstract, disembodied figures that distract attention; even if they were fashionable ['current' but evasive or personally oppressive, incapable of igniting reality from within].

Henceforth he manifests himself living, opening wide the doors of our sanctuary - no longer "subject to bondage for life" (Heb 2:15; Second Reading).

"For he cares not for the angels" (Heb 2:16), always available but without any instances of precisely personal impetus - without natural passions, lacking in independence - and with his brain always there, in the sacred.

The Gospel passage from Lk recounts the Father's surprising response to the predictions of fulfilment regarding the messianic prophecies.

An eloquent and peremptory manifestation of the power of the God of Israel and the submission of those who did not fulfil the Law was expected.

Everyone imagined that they would witness the triumphal entry of a leader - surrounded by military leaders or angelic hosts (Mal 3:1) - who would subjugate the pagans by bringing their possessions into the holy city, grant the chosen people many slaves, and enforce observance.

Jesus? Here he is in the Temple, but helpless; accompanied by insignificant people. No one notices them, although at all hours the holy place is swarming with visitors.

It is not enough to be pious and devout people to realise the presence of Christ - to see God himself, one's brothers, things, with the eyes of the Father.

How do we break through the wall of closed customs - how do we break through the artificial world of contrary appearances, to turn to the creative Unknown?

Lk answers: with the help of particularly sensitive people, capable of understanding the New Project.

They are those who do not set trivial intentions or current dreams against the Design of the Most High; the habitual expectations (of others) - demanding from the Lord only the help to realise them.

Here then arise Simeon and Anna (vv.25.36-38), women and men coryphaeans of the most sensitive authentic People, thanks to excellent work on the soul.

Coming both from inside and outside the Temple - such prophets attempt to block (vv.28.38 Greek text) the small family procession, still bound by Judaic conventions (vv.21-23).

Compared to cultic and legalistic stereotypes, the members of the holy family must take a different, conscious Path.

A path that will lead it to unforeseen growth, for the benefit of all.

Thus, the Tiny Holy Remnant of Spirit-animated women and men burst in (always) as if they were strangers...

People of tiny worshippers, of genuine outsiders, who even try to prevent the 'same' useless clan ritual!

A gesture that pretended - again - to transform (and reduce) into an obsequious son of Abraham the One who had been announced as the Son of God.

In short, in the figures of Simeon and Anna, Lk wants to convey to us a fundamental teaching.

If the goal is the triumph of life, past history must not take precedence over unheard-of revelation.

Divine Oneness is manifested in what happens.

The Exceptionality of the Spirit proposes itself (dimly) now.

Unexpectedness to which we are called to give full voice - and echo.

The unveiling is now.

The 'here' immediately opens an arc of full existence.

[No more repeating 'how we should be' according to customs or fathers...].

Where everything is combined, we will not find the answers that solve real problems, nor magic times - those that motivate us.

Genuine God souls are not concerned with pandering to obligations, but rather with living intensely in the present moment with the energy that shapes the future, without hesitating with the excesses of control.

Stepping out of the normality of the established way - even through labour pains (vv.34-35) - creates the space to welcome the Newness that saves.

Along the way, those thoughts and duties that no longer correspond to one's destiny will be defused, will evaporate of their own accord. 

So in Mary: Mother icon of the whole Church of true expectations - cut off (v.35) from the habitual crowd.

She has laid down all dependencies.

And the Innocent One is the glory of the 'nation', in Spirit - for she comes forth!

In her unpredictable and healthy figure resides a Light that enlightens all (v.32).

A trait of childhood and simple immediacy that becomes the "redemption of Jerusalem" (v.38).

It is in fact a Light that produces conflict with officialdom, a profound Splendour destined for all time - while the astute do not want to know about losing coordinates, roles, positions.

A "sword" (v.35) that in Mother Israel will bring about lacerations between those who open themselves to the torch of the Gospel and others who vice versa.

Lk has in mind community situations, where believers in Christ are discarded by friends and families from different cultural backgrounds (Lk 12:51-53).

But the awaited and true Messiah must be delivered to the world - although those best prepared to recognise him are the members of the smallest tribe of Israel [Asher, in the figure of Anna: vv.36-38].

These are the same prophets who in life vibrated for one great Love (vv.36-37), then experienced the absence of the Beloved - until they recognised him in Christ. Rejoicing in surprise; grasping personal correspondences within themselves, in the Spirit; rejoicing, praising the Gift of God (v.38).

The passage concludes with the return to Nazareth (vv.39-40) and the note concerning Jesus' own growth "in wisdom, stature and grace" [Greek text].

Moral: we are not in this world to cling to shadows and blocks of the past, with its perennial feelings - same old moods, same prevailing thoughts, same way of doing things (even the little things).

Mechanisms and comparisons that close off our days, our whole life and the emotional space of passions - clipping the wings of testimonies that want to override the course recognised since our ancestors.

Conversely, this is precisely the great Challenge that activates the young Rebirth of the Dream of God. And launches us into the transition from religious sense to personal Faith.

Such is the only energy that awakens, arouses enthusiasm, communicates simple virtue, sweeps away the layers of dust that still cover us with conformism without intimate momentum.

The recalcitrant and collective ways of taking to the field [more or less 'moral'] point at, deviate from, overload our essence - appealing to the fear of being rejected.

To slip effortlessly into the conventions and manners of our local culture [i.e. à la page] we often risk losing the Calling by Name, the unrepeatability of the path that vibrates within and truly belongs to us.

With respect to the 'religious' guerrilla warfare that we carry on even with ourselves, we need a respite from the common forms - even devout; cultic and purist, or glamorous.

Here comes a break from the social self-image: to allow us to abandon external and toxic forms, to recover silenced energies.

And to launch ourselves into new experiences from the soul [which is not wrong] - which we want to and are called upon to espouse, with enthusiasm, without first stepping into a role.

[Today's Feast of Jesus' Presentation at the temple 40 days after his birth] places before our eyes a special moment in the life of the Holy Family:  Mary and Joseph, in accordance with Mosaic law, took the tiny Jesus to the temple of Jerusalem to offer him to the Lord (cf. Lk 2: 22). Simeon and Anna, inspired by God, recognized that Child as the long-awaited Messiah and prophesied about him. We are in the presence of a mystery, both simple and solemn, in which Holy Church celebrates Christ, the Anointed One of the Father, the firstborn of the new humanity.

The evocative candlelight procession at the beginning of our celebration has made us relive the majestic entrance, as we sang in the Responsorial Psalm, of the One who is "the King of glory", "the Lord, mighty in battle" (Ps 24[23]: 7, 8). But who is the powerful God who enters the temple? It is a Child; it is the Infant Jesus in the arms of his Mother, the Virgin Mary. The Holy Family was complying with what the Law prescribed:  the purification of the mother, the offering of the firstborn child to God and his redemption through a sacrifice.

In the First Reading the Liturgy speaks of the oracle of the Prophet Malachi:  "The Lord... will suddenly come to his temple" (Mal 3: 1). These words communicated the full intensity of the desire that had given life to the expectation of the Jewish People down the centuries. "The angel of the Covenant" at last entered his house and submitted to the Law:  he came to Jerusalem to enter God's house in an attitude of obedience.

The meaning of this act acquires a broader perspective in the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews, proclaimed as the Second Reading today. Christ, the mediator who unites God and man, abolishing distances, eliminating every division and tearing down every wall of separation, is presented to us here.

Christ comes as a new "merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people" (Heb 2: 17). Thus, we note that mediation with God no longer takes place in the holiness-separation of the ancient priesthood, but in liberating solidarity with human beings.

While yet a Child, he sets out on the path of obedience that he was to follow to the very end.
The Letter to the Hebrews highlights this clearly when it says:  "In the days of his earthly life Jesus offered up prayers and supplications... to him who was able to save him from death.... Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him" (cf. Heb 5: 7-9).

The first person to be associated with Christ on the path of obedience, proven faith and shared suffering was his Mother, Mary. The Gospel text portrays her in the act of offering her Son:  an unconditional offering that involves her in the first person.

Mary is the Mother of the One who is "the glory of [his] people Israel" and a "light for revelation to the Gentiles", but also "a sign that is spoken against" (cf. Lk 2: 32, 34). And in her immaculate soul, she herself was to be pierced by the sword of sorrow, thus showing that her role in the history of salvation did not end in the mystery of the Incarnation but was completed in loving and sorrowful participation in the death and Resurrection of her Son.

Bringing her Son to Jerusalem, the Virgin Mother offered him to God as a true Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. She held him out to Simeon and Anna as the proclamation of redemption; she presented him to all as a light for a safe journey on the path of truth and love.

The words that came to the lips of the elderly Simeon:  "My eyes have seen your salvation" (Lk 2: 30), are echoed in the heart of the prophetess Anna. These good and devout people, enveloped in Christ's light, were able to see in the Child Jesus "the consolation of Israel" (Lk 2: 25). So it was that their expectation was transformed into a light that illuminates history.

Simeon was the bearer of an ancient hope and the Spirit of the Lord spoke to his heart:  for this reason he could contemplate the One whom numerous prophets and kings had desired to see:  Christ, light of revelation for the Gentiles.

He recognized that Child as the Saviour, but he foresaw in the Spirit that the destinies of humanity would be played out around him and that he would have to suffer deeply from those who rejected him; he proclaimed the identity and mission of the Messiah with words that form one of the hymns of the newborn Church, radiant with the full communitarian and eschatological exultation of the fulfilment of the expectation of salvation. The enthusiasm was so great that to live and to die were one and the same, and the "light" and "glory" became a universal revelation.

Anna is a "prophetess", a wise and pious woman who interpreted the deep meaning of historical events and of God's message concealed within them. Consequently, she could "give thanks to God" and "[speak of the Child] to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem" (Lk 2: 38).
Her long widowhood devoted to worship in the temple, fidelity to weekly fasting and participation in the expectation of those who yearned for the redemption of Israel culminated in her meeting with the Child Jesus.

Dear brothers and sisters, on this Feast of the Presentation of the Lord the Church is celebrating the Day of Consecrated Life. This is an appropriate occasion to praise the Lord and thank him for the precious gift represented by the consecrated life in its different forms; at the same time it is an incentive to encourage in all the People of God knowledge and esteem for those who are totally consecrated to God.

Indeed, just as Jesus' life in his obedience and dedication to the Father is a living parable of the "God-with-us", so the concrete dedication of consecrated persons to God and to their brethren becomes an eloquent sign for today's world of the presence of God's Kingdom.

Your way of living and working can vividly express full belonging to the one Lord; placing yourselves without reserve in the hands of Christ and of the Church is a strong and clear proclamation of God's presence in a language understandable to our contemporaries. This is the first service that the consecrated life offers to the Church and to the world. Consecrated persons are like watchmen among the People of God who perceive and proclaim the new life already present in our history.

I now address you in a special way, dear brothers and sisters who have embraced the vocation of special consecration, to greet you with affection and thank you warmly for your presence.
I extend a special greeting to Archbishop Franc Rodé, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and to his collaborators who are concelebrating with me at this Holy Mass.

May the Lord renew in you and in all consecrated people each day the joyful response to his freely given and faithful love. Dear brothers and sisters, like lighted candles, always and everywhere shine with the love of Christ, Light of the world. May Mary Most Holy, the consecrated Woman, help you to live to the full your special vocation and mission in the Church for the world's salvation.

Amen!

[Pope Benedict, homily 2 February 2006]

1. Lumen ad revelationem gentium: a light for revelation to the Gentiles (cf. Lk 2:32).

Forty days after his birth, Jesus was taken by Mary and Joseph to the temple to be presented to the Lord (cf. Lk 2:22), according to what the law of Moses prescribes: “Every first-born male shall be consecrated to the Lord” (Lk 2:23); and to offer in sacrifice “a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons, in accord with the dictate in the law of the Lord” (Lk 2:24).

In recalling these events, the liturgy intentionally and precisely follows the sequence of Gospel events: the completion of the 40 days following Christ’s birth. It does the same, later, with regard to the period between the Resurrection and the Ascension into heaven.

Three basic elements can be seen in the Gospel event celebrated today: the mystery of the coming, the reality of the meeting and the proclamation of the prophecy.

2. First of all, the mystery of the coming. The biblical readings we have heard stress the extraordinary nature of God’s coming: the prophet Malachi announces it in a transport of joy, the responsorial psalm sings it and Luke's Gospel text describes it. We need only listen, for example, to the responsorial psalm: “Lift up, O gates, your lintels ... that the king of glory may come in! Who is this king of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.... The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory” (Ps 23 [24]:7-8;10).

He who had been awaited for centuries enters the temple of Jerusalem, he who fulfils the promise of the Old Covenant: the Messiah foretold. The psalmist calls him “the king of glory”. Only later will it become clear that his kingdom is not of this world (cf. Jn 18:36) and that those who belong to this world are not preparing a royal crown for him, but a crown of thorns.

However, the liturgy looks beyond. In that 40-day-old infant it sees the “light” destined to illumine the nations, and presents him as the “glory” of the people of Israel (cf. Lk 2:32). It is he who must conquer death, as the Letter to the Hebrews proclaims, explaining the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature” (Heb 2:14), having taken on human nature.

After describing the mystery of the Incarnation, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews presents the mystery of Redemption: “Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted” (ibid., 2:17-18). This is a deep and moving presentation of the mystery of Christ. The passage from the Letter to the Hebrews helps us to understand better why this coming to Jerusalem of Mary’s newborn Son should be a decisive event in the history of salvation. Since it had been built, the temple was awaiting in a most exceptional way the One who had been promised. Thus his coming has a priestly meaning: “Ecce sacerdos magnus”; behold, the true and eternal High Priest enters the temple.

3. The second characteristic element of today’s celebration is the reality of the meeting. Even if no one was waiting for Joseph and Mary when they arrived hidden among the people at the temple in Jerusalem with the baby Jesus, something most unusual occurs. Here they meet persons guided by the Holy Spirit: the elderly Simeon of whom St Luke writes: “This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him and it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ” (Lk 2:25-26), and the prophetess Anna, who had lived “with her husband seven years from her virginity, and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (Lk 2:36-37). The Evangelist continues: “And coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Lk 2:38).

Simeon and Anna: a man and a woman, representatives of the Old Covenant, who, in a certain sense, had lived their whole lives for the moment when the temple of Jerusalem would be visited by the expected Messiah. Simeon and Anna understand that the moment has come at last, and reassured by the meeting, they can face the last phase of their life with peaceful hearts: “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation” (Lk 2:29-30).

At this discreet encounter, the words and actions effectively express the reality of the event taking place. The coming of the Messiah has not passed unobserved. It was recognized through the penetrating gaze of faith, which the elderly Simeon expresses in his moving words.

4. The third element that appears in this feast is prophecy: today truly prophetic words resound. Every day the Liturgy of the Hours ends the day with Simeon's inspired canticle: “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, ... a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for the glory of your people Israel” (Lk 2:29-32).

The elderly Simeon adds, turning to Mary: “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk 2:34-35).

Thus while we are still at the dawn of Jesus’ life, we are already oriented to Calvary. It is on the Cross that Jesus will be definitively confirmed as a sign of contradiction, and it is there that his Mother’s heart will be pierced by the sword of sorrow. We are told it all from the beginning, on the 40th day after Jesus’ birth, on the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, so important in the Church’s liturgy.

5. Dear brothers and sisters, today’s feast is enriched this year with a new significance. In fact, for the first time we are celebrating the Day for Consecrated Life.

Dear men and women religious and you, dear brothers and sisters, members of secular institutes and societies of apostolic life, you are all entrusted with the task of proclaiming, by word and example, the primacy of the Absolute over every human reality. This is an urgent task in our time, which often seems to have lost the genuine sense of God. As I recalled in the Message I addressed to you for this first Day for Consecrated Life: “Truly there is great urgency that the consecrated life show itself ever more ‘full of joy and of the Holy Spirit’, that it forge ahead dynamically in the paths of mission, that it be backed up by the strength of lived witness, because ‘modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and ‘if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses’ (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, n. 41)” (L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 29 January 1997, p. 3).

Together with the elderly Simeon and the prophetess Anna, let us go to meet the Lord in his temple. Let us welcome the light of his Revelation, committing ourselves to spreading it among our brothers and sisters in view of the now imminent Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.

May the Blessed Virgin,
Mother of hope and joy,
accompany us
and grant that all believers
may be witnesses to the salvation
which God has prepared in the presence of all peoples
in his incarnate Son, Jesus Christ,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for the glory of his people Israel.

Amen!

[Pope John Paul II, homily 2 February 1997]

Simeon, writes St Luke, "was waiting for the consolation of Israel" (Lk 2:25). Going up to the temple, while Mary and Joseph carry Jesus, he welcomes the Messiah in his arms. Recognising in the Child the light that has come to enlighten the nations is a man now old, who has waited patiently for the fulfilment of the Lord's promises. He has waited patiently.

The patience of Simeon. Let us take a closer look at the patience of this old man. All his life he waited and exercised patience of heart. In prayer, he learnt that God does not come in extraordinary events, but does his work in the apparent monotony of our days, in the sometimes tiring rhythm of activities, in the small things that we carry out with tenacity and humility trying to do his will. Walking patiently, Simeon has not let the passage of time wear him down. He is a man now laden with years, yet the flame of his heart is still burning; in his long life he will have been wounded at times, disappointed, yet he has not lost hope; with patience, he guards the promise - guarding the promise -, without allowing himself to be consumed by bitterness for the time that has passed or by that resigned melancholy that emerges when one reaches the twilight of life. The hope of expectation in him was translated into the daily patience of one who, in spite of everything, remained vigilant, until, finally, "his eyes saw salvation" (cf. Lk 2:30).

And I ask myself: from where did Simeon learn this patience? He received it from the prayer and from the life of his people, who in the Lord always recognised the "merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in grace and faithfulness" (Ex 34:6); he recognised the Father who even in the face of rejection and unfaithfulness does not grow weary, indeed "is patient for many years" (cf. Nehemiah 9:30), as Nehemiah says, in order to grant each time the possibility of conversion.

Simeon's patience, therefore, mirrors God's patience. From prayer and the history of his people, Simeon learnt that God is patient. By his patience,' says St Paul, he 'urges us to conversion' (Rom 2:4). I like to recall Romano Guardini, who said: patience is a way in which God responds to our weakness, to give us time to change (cf. Glaubenserkenntnis, Würzburg 1949, 28). And above all, the Messiah, Jesus, whom Simeon holds in his arms, reveals to us the patience of God, the Father who shows us mercy and calls us to the last hour, who does not demand perfection but the impulse of the heart, who opens up new possibilities where all seems lost, who seeks to make a breach within us even when our hearts are closed, who lets the good wheat grow without tearing up the weeds. This is the reason for our hope: God waits for us without ever growing weary. God waits for us without ever growing weary. And this is the reason for our hope. When we turn away He comes looking for us, when we fall to the ground He lifts us up, when we return to Him after being lost He waits for us with open arms. His love is not measured in the scales of our human calculations, but always instils in us the courage to begin again. He teaches us resilience, the courage to begin again. Always, every day. After the falls, always, begin again. He is patient.

And we look at our patience. We look at God's patience and Simeon's patience for our consecrated life. And we ask ourselves: what is patience? Certainly, it is not mere tolerance of difficulties or fatalistic endurance of adversity. Patience is not a sign of weakness: it is fortitude of spirit that makes us capable of "bearing the burden", of enduring: bearing the weight of personal and community problems, it makes us welcome the diversity of others, it makes us persevere in the good even when all seems futile, it makes us stay the course even when tedium and sloth assail us.

I would like to indicate three 'places' where patience is realised.

The first is our personal life. One day we answered the Lord's call and, with enthusiasm and generosity, we offered ourselves to Him. Along the way, along with consolations, we have also received disappointments and frustrations. Sometimes, the enthusiasm of our work is not matched by the hoped-for results, our sowing does not seem to bear the appropriate fruit, the fervour of prayer weakens and we are not always immunised against spiritual dryness. It can happen, in our lives as consecrated persons, that hope is worn out by disappointed expectations. We must be patient with ourselves and confidently await God's times and ways: He is faithful to His promises. This is the foundation stone: He is faithful to His promises. Remembering this allows us to rethink our paths, to reinvigorate our dreams, without giving in to inner sadness and mistrust. Brothers and sisters, inner sadness in us consecrated is a worm, a worm that eats us from within. Flee from inner sadness!

Second place where patience is realised: community life. Human relationships, especially when it comes to sharing a life project and apostolic activity, are not always peaceful, we all know that. Sometimes conflicts arise and one cannot demand an immediate solution, nor should one hastily judge the person or the situation: one must know how to distance oneself, try not to lose peace, wait for the best time to clarify in charity and truth. Do not let yourself be confused by storms. In the breviary reading there is a beautiful passage - for tomorrow - a beautiful passage from Diadochus of Photix on spiritual discernment, and it says this: "When the sea is rough you cannot see the fish, but when the sea is calm you can see them". Never will we be able to do good discernment, to see the truth, if our hearts are agitated and impatient. Never. In our communities we need this mutual patience: to bear, that is, to carry on one's shoulders the life of one's brother or sister, even his or her weaknesses and faults. All. Let us remember this: the Lord does not call us to be soloists - there are many, in the Church, we know that - no, he does not call us to be soloists, but to be part of a choir, which sometimes goes out of tune, but always has to try to sing together.

Finally, the third 'place', patience with the world. Simeon and Anna cultivate in their hearts the hope announced by the prophets, even if it is slow to be realised and slowly grows within the infidelities and ruins of the world. They do not lament the things that go wrong, but patiently wait for the light in the darkness of history. Waiting for the light in the darkness of history. Waiting for the light in the darkness of one's own community. We need this patience, so that we do not remain prisoners of complaint. Some are masters of complaining, they are doctors in complaining, they are great at complaining! No, complaining imprisons: 'the world no longer listens to us' - so often we hear this -, 'we no longer have vocations, we must close up shop', 'we are living in difficult times' - 'ah, tell me about it! So begins the duet of complaints. Sometimes it happens that to the patience with which God works the soil of history, and also works the soil of our hearts, we oppose the impatience of those who judge everything immediately: now or never, now, now. And so we lose that virtue, the 'small' but most beautiful one: hope. So many consecrated men and women I have seen lose hope. Simply out of impatience.

Patience helps us to look at ourselves, our communities and the world with mercy. We can ask ourselves: do we welcome the patience of the Spirit into our lives? In our communities, do we carry each other on our shoulders and show the joy of fraternal life? And towards the world, do we carry out our service with patience or do we judge harshly? These are challenges for our consecrated life: we cannot remain stuck in nostalgia for the past or merely repeat the same old things, nor in daily complaints. We need the courageous patience to walk, to explore new paths, to seek out what the Holy Spirit suggests.  And this is done with humility, with simplicity, without great propaganda, without great publicity.

Let us contemplate God's patience and implore the trusting patience of Simeon and also of Anna, so that our eyes too may see the light of salvation and bring it to the whole world, as these two old men brought it in praise.

[Pope Francis, homily 2 February 2020]

Already rebellious: special Vocation

(Lk 2:41-52)

The Gospel passage is disconcerting because it seems to portray a distracted family and an authentic, surprising, already surly and rebellious Jesus.

Lk is writing more than half a century after the Lord's death and resurrection, and he wants to bring out the character of Faith and inclination of his communities still in search.

The bloody story of the Master had to be understood and internalised in a way that was not immediately apparent; not even to those closest to the Messiah.

It seems that the Holy Family went up to Jerusalem every year for the Passover (v.41).

Our Adolescent shows signs of particular vocation, even before becoming an adult and required to observe the Torah [in Israel, 13 years old].

From the tone of the narrative we note a Jesus eager to feed and immerse himself in the still unexpressed Mystery of the Father.

Dreaming of discovering his Will, he stayed in the holy city to fully understand the Word of God - without being satisfied of impersonal, abbreviated catechisms.

First expressions of Jesus in the third Gospel mark the character of his whole story.

He firmly detached himself from the religiosity of the ‘fathers’ (v.49).

The Lord begins to distance himself from ideas common even to his family of origin: he does not belong to a definite clan.

His will be a divine proposal in favor of all the women and men of the world.

So Jesus has even more honoured the fidelity to God of his parents (vv.51-52) by accepting the whole spirit of their teachings, and digging further - sensing their ultimate meaning.

As if to say: in Him the sacred Scriptures become accessible, with the reading’s key of his whole story and Person.

Life for us - even before Baptism and public events.

Lk writes to encourage believers who did not yet fully understand about personality [and dramatic outcome] of the new Rabbi.

Like Joseph and Mary, they had to realise that it is not easy to understand the Son of God and accept his uniqueness of character, even to the point of earthly defeat.

In the figure of the Holy Family, we too are invited to «return to Jerusalem» (v.45).

Well, observing the autonomy of Christ, we will gradually be able to open ourselves to the unprecedent vocation that we carry within us - because we are ‘born again’ in Him.

And in the face of disconcerting events, we will learn to guard the personal Call - like Mary. 

Because She too did not find it easy to enter in her Easter: the ‘passage’ from the religion of traditions and common expectations to the Faith in the Son.

But She «preserved through» Word and events (v.51b), without stopping halfway.

The movement of Salvation familiarizes everyone in the dynamics of bewilderment [from narrowness] and finding [of a Presence within the different presences] in order not to narrow the horizons.

[Holy Family of Nazareth (year C)]

Shades and ferment of Love

(Holy Family of Nazareth)

How is it that Jesus had such sublime words on Love? And where did he learn the language of love?

God wanted to have Family as an icon of himself, so that in the exercise of domestic virtues, soul would become an oasis of peace, and would turn into gift.

Among the many possible ways he had of coming, he has chosen the forge of the hearth, because it remains the true school of loving kindness, the place in which the Creator’s design is fully manifested.

The family is the primer and syllabary of love because it is the image of the Trinity. In fact, the relationship of love between spouses, sustained by faith and prayer becomes poetry that supports, and does flourish.

The family together in mutual submission receives the eye of God and thus overcomes each trial.

From the intensity of relationship – which is a sign of the supernatural - then tenderness comes, the smile of the soul and an anticipation of paradise here on earth.

Spousal love: image of the Trinity that doesn't close itself, nor become narrow-minded. So: the nuclear family becomes a springboard for mission, a gateway to a reality without fences and barricades, the universal Family.

Jesus did experience of motherly love, of a mother's heart beating for her son, for it's in the mother's heart that the sons can find rest.

This is the characteristic of the feminine genius, in the experience of gestation before, and then in the life. The mother makes room inside for growth within the womb, and then feeding, educating and supporting, by welcoming, maturing and respecting the identity of the other...

Christ experienced paternal love, more manly and demanding maybe, but able to care and protect. He experienced a model of hard work, attention, (ready suitcases always) and presence.

Like us, Jesus lived the right to receive love, but he also satisfied the love of his parents. Because even filial love strengthens the family and helps not to disflake it.

In short, it's in the family that Jesus lived the experience of all the nuances of love, in the arms of Mary, and on Joseph's side. This is the model that the liturgy proposes today so that we too draw from the perennial sources and do not become dangerous crock pots, emptied and wandering.

Here's the secret...

In the Holy Family of Nazareth there was no opposition or resistance to the Word of God. Their life was not easy, but in contrast to what is happening around and maybe even in our homes, in moments of crisis, difficulties and even misfortunes were not a reason for mutual estrangement and collapse.

On the contrary, obstacles became a stimulus to dialogue, for union, for service towards the weaker one and (at the moment) most in need of help.

The couple have always moved together, in agreement and with heart and mind turned to God in making their choices. They did so, not to cultivate a selfishness circle, but to live a warmth that overflows.

For the Christian, the Family is the core of society and cannot be devalued, but it should not be considered or lived as an idol. Even Jesus at one point distanced himself from certain environmental constraints and opened himself to horizons of wider scope.

He was born into a Family, to become a citizen of every land, because every child is a gift from God to all humanity. Restricting the prospects and pleasing oneself to a small world of affections and interests that ignore universal fraternity means demeaning what remains a simple stage in a growth, to leap towards other destinations.

The Family is yes a small domestic Church wanted by God as a syllabary of the many nuances of love [sponsal, maternal, paternal, filial] but like ‘ferment’.

As a solid platform it must then allow us to boldly take flight, with a leap towards life.

(Homily to the young people of Taizé, Rome, December 30, 2012)

[St  Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (December 29, 2024)]

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

On this last Sunday of the year we are celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth. I address with joy all the families of the world, wishing them the peace and love that Jesus brought us in coming among us at Christmas. 

In the Gospel we do not find discourses on the family but an event which is worth more than any words:  God wanted to be born and to grow up in a human family. In this way he consecrated the family as the first and ordinary means of his encounter with humanity. 

In his life spent at Nazareth, Jesus honoured the Virgin Mary and the righteous Joseph, remaining under their authority throughout the period of his childhood and his adolescence (cf. Lk 2: 41-52). In this way he shed light on the primary value of the family in the education of the person. 

Jesus was introduced by Mary and Joseph into the religious community and frequented the synagogue of Nazareth. With them, he learned to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as the Gospel passage offered for our meditation by today's liturgy tells us. 

When he was 12 years old, he stayed behind in the Temple and it took his parents all of three days to find him. With this act he made them understand that he "had to see to his Father's affairs", in other words, to the mission that God had entrusted to him (cf. Lk 2: 41-52). 

This Gospel episode reveals the most authentic and profound vocation of the family: that is, to accompany each of its members on the path of the discovery of God and of the plan that he has prepared for him or her. 

Mary and Joseph taught Jesus primarily by their example: in his parents he came to know the full beauty of faith, of love for God and for his Law, as well as the demands of justice, which is totally fulfilled in love (cf. Rom 13: 10). 

From them he learned that it is necessary first of all to do God's will, and that the spiritual bond is worth more than the bond of kinship. 

The Holy Family of Nazareth is truly the "prototype" of every Christian family which, united in the Sacrament of Marriage and nourished by the Word and the Eucharist, is called to carry out the wonderful vocation and mission of being the living cell not only of society but also of the Church, a sign and instrument of unity for the entire human race. 

Let us now invoke for every family, especially families in difficulty, the protection of Mary Most Holy and of St Joseph. May they sustain such families so that they can resist the disintegrating forces of a certain contemporary culture which undermines the very foundations of the family institution. 

May they help Christian families to be, in every part of the world, living images of God's love.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 31 December 2006]