Genealogy

Dear brothers and sisters of Rome and of the whole world!

Christ is born for us! Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to the people he loves. May the echo of the proclamation of Bethlehem, which the Catholic Church makes resound in all continents, beyond all boundaries of nationality, language and culture, reach everyone. The Son of the Virgin Mary is born for all, he is the Saviour of all.

Thus an ancient liturgical antiphon invokes him: 'O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, hope and salvation of the peoples: come and save us, O Lord our God. Veni ad salvandum nos! Come and save us! This is the cry of the man of all times, who feels he cannot make it alone to overcome difficulties and dangers. He needs to put his hand in a greater and stronger hand, a hand that reaches out to him from on high. Dear brothers and sisters, this hand is Christ, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. He is the hand that God stretched out to humanity, to bring it out of the quicksand of sin and set it on its feet on the rock, the firm rock of his Truth and Love (cf. Ps 40:3).

Yes, this is what the name of that Child means, the name that, by God's will, Mary and Joseph gave him: his name is Jesus, which means "Saviour" (cf. Mt 1:21; Lk 1:31). He was sent by God the Father to save us above all from the deep evil, rooted in man and history: that evil that is separation from God, the presumptuous pride of doing one's own thing, of competing with God and replacing Him, of deciding what is good and what is evil, of being the master of life and death (cf. Gen 3:1-7). This is the great evil, the great sin, from which we men cannot save ourselves except by relying on God's help, except by crying out to Him: "Veni ad salvandum nos! - Come and save us!".

The very fact of raising this invocation to Heaven already puts us in the right position, puts us in the truth of ourselves: for we are those who have cried out to God and have been saved (cf. Esth [Greek] 10:3f). God is the Saviour, we the ones in danger. He is the physician, we the sick. To recognise Him, is the first step towards salvation, towards getting out of the labyrinth in which we ourselves shut ourselves up with our pride. Lifting our eyes to Heaven, stretching out our hands and calling for help is the way out, provided there is Someone who listens, and who can come to our rescue.

Jesus Christ is proof that God has heard our cry. Not only that! God has such a strong love for us that He cannot remain in Himself, that He comes out of Himself and comes into us, sharing our condition to the full (cf. Ex 3:7-12). The response God gave in Jesus to the cry of man infinitely exceeds our expectation, reaching such solidarity that it cannot be only human, but divine. Only the God who is love and the love that is God could choose to save us through this path, which is certainly the longest, but it is the one that respects his and our truth: the path of reconciliation, of dialogue, of collaboration.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, on this Christmas 2011, let us turn to the Child of Bethlehem, to the Son of the Virgin Mary, and say: "Come and save us!" We repeat this in spiritual union with so many people in particularly difficult situations, and as the voice of the voiceless.

Together we invoke divine succour for the peoples of the Horn of Africa, who suffer from hunger and famine, sometimes aggravated by a persistent state of insecurity. May the international community not fail to help the many refugees from that region, who are sorely tried in their dignity.

May the Lord bring comfort to the peoples of South-East Asia, particularly of Thailand and the Philippines, who are still in grave distress as a result of the recent floods.

May the Lord come to the aid of humanity wounded by the many conflicts, which still today stain the planet with blood. May he, who is the Prince of Peace, grant peace and stability to the Land he has chosen to come into the world, and encourage the resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. Bring an end to the violence in Syria, where so much blood has already been shed. Promote full reconciliation and stability in Iraq and Afghanistan. Grant renewed vigour in building the common good to all parts of society in North African and Middle Eastern countries.

May the birth of the Saviour sustain the prospects for dialogue and cooperation in Myanmar, in the search for shared solutions. May the birth of the Redeemer grant political stability to the countries of the African Great Lakes Region and assist the efforts of the people of South Sudan to protect the rights of all citizens. 

Dear brothers and sisters, let us turn our gaze to the Grotto of Bethlehem: the Child we contemplate is our salvation! He has brought the world a universal message of reconciliation and peace. Let us open our hearts to him, let us welcome him into our lives. Let us repeat to Him with confidence and hope: "Veni ad salvandum nos!"

[Pope Benedict, Urbi et Orbi Message 25 December 2011].

Today he is born for you

Dear brothers and sisters,

"A child has been born for us, a son has been given to us" (Is 9:5). What Isaiah, looking far into the future, says to Israel as consolation in its anguish and darkness, the Angel, from which emanates a cloud of light, announces to the shepherds as present: "Today, in the city of David, a Saviour is born for you, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:11). The Lord is present. From this moment, God is truly a "God with us". He is no longer the distant God, who, through creation and through consciousness, can somehow be sensed from afar. He has entered the world. He is the Near. The risen Christ has said this to his own, to us: "Behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28: 20). For you the Saviour is born: what the Angel announced to the shepherds, God now recalls to us through the Gospel and its messengers. This is news that cannot leave us indifferent. If it is true, everything has changed. If it is true, it concerns me too. Then, like the shepherds, I too must say: Come, I want to go to Bethlehem and see the Word that happened there. The Gospel does not tell us the story of the shepherds without purpose. They show us how to respond in the right way to the message that is also addressed to us. What then do these first witnesses of God's incarnation tell us?

First of all, it is said of the shepherds that they were vigilant people and that the message could reach them precisely because they were awake. We must wake up, for the message to reach us. We must become truly vigilant people. What does this mean? The difference between one who dreams and one who is awake consists first of all in the fact that the one who dreams is in a particular world. He is enclosed with his self in this dream world that is his alone and does not connect him with others. Waking up means leaving this particular world of the self and entering into the common reality, into the truth that, alone, unites us all. Conflict in the world, mutual irreconcilability, stems from the fact that we are enclosed in our own interests and personal opinions, in our own tiny private world. Selfishness, that of the group as well as that of the individual, keeps us prisoners of our own interests and desires, which conflict with the truth and divide us from one another. Wake up, the Gospel tells us. Come out into the great common truth, into the communion of the one God. To wake up thus means to develop sensitivity for God; for the silent signs with which He wants to guide us; for the many signs of His presence. There are people who say that they are 'religiously devoid of a musical ear'. The perceptive capacity for God seems almost a dowry that is denied to some. And indeed - our way of thinking and acting, the mentality of today's world, the range of our various experiences are apt to reduce our sensitivity for God, to make us 'devoid of a musical ear' for Him. And yet in every soul is present, in a hidden or open way, the expectation of God, the capacity to encounter Him. To achieve this vigilance, this awakening to the essential, we want to pray, for ourselves and for others, for those who seem to be "devoid of this musical ear" and in whom, nevertheless, the desire for God to manifest Himself is alive. The great theologian Origen said: If I had the grace to see as Paul saw, I could now (during the Liturgy) contemplate a great host of angels (cf. Lk 23:9). Indeed - in the Sacred Liturgy, the Angels of God and the Saints surround us. The Lord himself is present in our midst. Lord, open the eyes of our hearts, that we may become vigilant and visionary, and so we may bring your nearness to others!

Let us return to the Christmas Gospel. It tells us that the shepherds, having heard the Angel's message, said to one another: "'Let us go up to Bethlehem' ... They went, without delay" (Lk 2:15f.). "They hastened" says the Greek text literally. What had been announced to them was so important that they had to go immediately. In fact, what they had been told there was totally beyond the ordinary. It changed the world. The Saviour was born. The long-awaited Son of David came into the world in his own city. What could have been more important? Of course, they were also driven by curiosity, but above all by excitement about the great thing that had been communicated to them, the little ones and seemingly unimportant men. They hurried - without delay. In our ordinary life things are not like that. The majority of men do not consider the things of God to be a priority, they do not immediately press upon us. And so we, in the vast majority, are quite willing to put them off. First we do what appears urgent here and now. In the list of priorities, God is often found almost at the last place. This - one thinks - can always be done. The Gospel tells us: God has top priority. If something in our lives deserves to be hurried without delay, it is, then, God's cause alone. A maxim of the Rule of St Benedict says: 'Put nothing before the work of God (i.e. the divine office)'. The liturgy is the first priority for monks. Everything else comes next. At its core, however, this phrase applies to every man. God is important, the most important reality in our lives. It is precisely this priority that the shepherds teach us. From them we want to learn not to let ourselves be crushed by all the urgent things of everyday life. From them we want to learn the inner freedom to put other occupations - however important they may be - on the back burner in order to move towards God, to let Him into our lives and our time. Time committed to God and, from Him, to our neighbour is never time wasted. It is the time in which we truly live, in which we live the very being of human persons.

Some commentators point out that first the shepherds, the simple souls, came to Jesus in the manger and were able to meet the Redeemer of the world. The wise men who came from the East, the representatives of those with rank and name, came much later. The commentators add: this is quite obvious. The shepherds, in fact, lived next door. They only had to "cross" (cf. Lk 2:15) as one crosses a short space to go to one's neighbours. The wise, on the other hand, lived far away. They had to travel a long and difficult way to Bethlehem. And they needed guidance and direction. Well, even today there are simple and humble souls who live very close to the Lord. They are, so to speak, His neighbours and can easily go to Him. But most of us modern men live far from Jesus Christ, from the One who became man, from the God who came among us. We live in philosophies, affairs and occupations that fill us up completely and from which the path to the manger is very long. In many ways God must repeatedly nudge us and give us a hand, so that we can find our way out of the tangle of our thoughts and our busyness and find our way to Him. But for everyone there is a way. For everyone the Lord has signs that are suitable for each one. He calls all of us, so that we too can say: Come, let us "cross over", let us go to Bethlehem - to that God, who has come to meet us. Yes, God has come towards us. Alone we could not reach Him. The way is beyond our strength. But God has descended. He comes to meet us. He has travelled the longest part of the way. Now He asks us: Come and see how much I love you. Come and see that I am here. Transeamus usque Bethleem, says the Latin Bible. Let us go beyond! Let us go beyond ourselves! Let us be wayfarers to God in many ways: in being inwardly on our way to Him. And yet also in very concrete ways - in the liturgy of the Church, in service to our neighbour, where Christ is waiting for me.

Let us again listen directly to the Gospel. The shepherds tell each other why they are setting out: "Let us see this event". Literally the Greek text says: "We see this Word, which happened there". Yes, such is the novelty of this night: the Word can be seen. For it has become flesh. That God of whom no image is to be made, because any image could only reduce him, indeed misrepresent him, that God has made himself, Himself, visible in the One who is his true image, as Paul says (cf. 2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). In the figure of Jesus Christ, in all his living and working, in his dying and rising, we can see the Word of God and thus the mystery of the living God himself. God is like this. The Angel had said to the shepherds: "This is the sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" (Lk 2:12; cf. 16). God's sign, the sign given to the shepherds and to us, is not an exciting miracle. The sign of God is His humility. The sign of God is that He makes Himself small; He becomes a child; He lets Himself be touched and asks for our love. How we men long for a different, imposing, irrefutable sign of God's power and greatness. But his sign invites us to faith and love, and therefore gives us hope: this is how God is. He possesses power and He is Goodness. He invites us to become like Him. Yes, we become like God, if we let ourselves be moulded by this sign; if we learn, ourselves, humility and thus true greatness; if we renounce violence and use only the weapons of truth and love. Origen, following a word of John the Baptist, saw the essence of paganism expressed in the symbol of the stones: paganism is a lack of sensitivity, it means a heart of stone, which is incapable of loving and perceiving God's love. Origen says of pagans: "Devoid of feeling and reason, they turn into stones and wood" (in Lk 22:9). Christ, however, wants to give us a heart of flesh. When we see Him, the God who became a child, our hearts are opened. In the Liturgy of the Holy Night, God comes to us as man, so that we may become truly human. Let us listen to Origen again: "Indeed, what would it profit you that Christ once came in the flesh, if He did not come to your soul? Let us pray that He may come to us daily and that we may say: I live, but I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20)" (in Lk 22:3).

Yes, for this we want to pray on this Holy Night. Lord Jesus Christ, you who were born in Bethlehem, come to us! Enter into me, into my soul. Transform me. Renew me. Make me and all of us from stone and wood into living persons, in whom your love becomes present and the world is transformed. Amen.

[Pope Benedict, Homily of the Night 24 December 2009].

The shepherds found

"A holy day has dawned for us: come all to worship the Lord; today a splendid light has descended upon the earth" (Christmas Day Mass, Gospel Acclamation).

Dear brothers and sisters! "A holy day has dawned for us. A day of great hope: today the Saviour of mankind has been born! The birth of a child normally brings a light of hope to those who anxiously await it. When Jesus was born in the cave in Bethlehem, a 'great light' appeared on earth; a great hope entered the hearts of those who awaited him: 'lux magna', sings the liturgy on this Christmas Day. It was certainly not 'great' in the manner of this world, for it was first seen only by Mary, Joseph and a few shepherds, then by the Magi, old Simeon, the prophetess Anna: those whom God had chosen. Yet, in the concealment and silence of that holy night, a splendid and everlasting light was kindled for every man; the great hope that brought happiness came into the world: "the Word became flesh and we have seen his glory" (Jn 1:14)

"God is light," says St John, "and in him there is no darkness" (1 John 1:5). In the Book of Genesis we read that when the universe originated, "the earth was formless and deserted and darkness covered the abyss". "God said, 'Let there be light!' And the light was" (Gen 1:2-3). The creative Word of God is Light, the source of life. Everything was made through the Logos and without Him nothing was made of everything that exists (cf. Jn 1:3). That is why all creatures are fundamentally good, and bear within themselves the imprint of God, a spark of His light. However, when Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, Light itself came into the world: "God from God, Light from Light", we profess in the Creed. In Jesus, God took on what was not and remained what He was: "omnipotence entered into an infant body and was not removed from the government of the universe" (cf. Augustine, Serm 184, 1 on Christmas). He who is the creator of man became man in order to bring peace to the world. That is why, on Christmas night, the hosts of Angels sing: "Glory to God in the highest / and peace on earth to men whom he loves" (Lk 2:14).

"Today a splendid light has descended upon the earth". The Light of Christ is the bearer of peace. At the night Mass, the Eucharistic liturgy opened with precisely this hymn: "Today true peace has descended to us from heaven" (Entrance Antiphon). Indeed, only the "great" light that appeared in Christ can give men "true" peace: that is why every generation is called to welcome it, to welcome the God who became one of us in Bethlehem.

This is Christmas! A historical event and mystery of love, which for over two thousand years has challenged men and women of every age and place. It is the holy day on which the "great light" of Christ, bearer of peace, shines forth! Of course, to recognise it, to welcome it requires faith, it requires humility. The humility of Mary, who believed the word of the Lord, and was the first to adore, bent over the manger, the Fruit of her womb; the humility of Joseph, a righteous man, who had the courage of faith and preferred to obey God rather than protect his own reputation; the humility of the shepherds, the poor and anonymous shepherds, who welcomed the announcement of the heavenly messenger and hurried to the cave where they found the newborn child and, filled with astonishment, adored it, praising God (cf. Lk 2:15-20). The little ones, the poor in spirit: these are the protagonists of Christmas, yesterday and today; the protagonists of God's history, the tireless builders of his Kingdom of justice, love and peace.

In the silence of the night in Bethlehem Jesus was born and was welcomed by caring hands. And now, at this Christmas of ours, when the joyful announcement of his redemptive birth continues to resound, who is ready to open the door of their hearts to him? Men and women of our age, to us too Christ comes to bring light, to us too he comes to give peace! But who keeps watch, in the night of doubt and uncertainty, with an awake and prayerful heart? Who waits for the dawn of the new day, keeping the flame of faith burning? Who has time to listen to his word and allow himself to be enveloped by the charm of his love? Yes! It is for all his message of peace; it is to all that he comes to offer himself as a sure hope of salvation.

May the light of Christ, who comes to enlighten every human being, finally shine forth, and be consolation for those who find themselves in the darkness of misery, injustice, war; for those who are still denied their legitimate aspiration to a more secure livelihood, health, education, stable employment, a fuller participation in civic and political responsibilities, free from all oppression and sheltered from conditions that offend human dignity. Victims of bloody armed conflicts, terrorism and violence of all kinds, which inflict untold suffering on entire populations, are particularly the most vulnerable, children, women and the elderly. While ethnic, religious and political tensions, instability, rivalries, injustice and discrimination, which tear at the internal fabric of many countries, exacerbate international relations. And in the world, the number of migrants, refugees, and displaced persons is growing, also because of frequent natural disasters, often the consequence of worrying environmental disasters.

On this day of peace, our thoughts go above all to where the clang of arms resounds: to the martyred lands of Darfur, Somalia and the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo, to the borders of Eritrea and Ethiopia, to the entire Middle East, in particular Iraq, Lebanon and the Holy Land, to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to the Balkan region, and to the many other crisis situations, often unfortunately forgotten. May the Child Jesus bring relief to those in trial and instil in those in government the wisdom and courage to seek and find humane, just and lasting solutions. To the thirst for meaning and value that the world feels today, to the search for well-being and peace that marks the life of all humanity, to the expectations of the poor Christ, true God and true Man, responds with his Christmas. Let individuals and nations not be afraid to recognise and welcome Him: with Him "a splendid light" illuminates the horizon of humanity; with Him opens "a holy day" that knows no sunset. May this Christmas truly be for all a day of joy, hope and peace!

"Come all and adore the Lord". With Mary, Joseph and the shepherds, with the Magi and the innumerable host of humble worshippers of the newborn Child, who down the centuries have welcomed the mystery of Christmas, let us too, brothers and sisters of every continent, let the light of this day spread everywhere: let it enter our hearts, brighten and warm our homes, bring serenity and hope to our cities, give peace to the world. This is my wish for you who listen to me. A wish that becomes a humble and trusting prayer to the Child Jesus, that his light may dispel all darkness from your lives and fill you with love and peace. May the Lord, who has made his face of mercy shine forth in Christ, satisfy you with his happiness and make you messengers of his goodness. Merry Christmas!

[Pope Benedict, Urbi et Orbi Message 25 December 2007].

The Logos became Flesh

"Verbum caro factum est" - "The Word became flesh" (Jn 1:14).

Dear brothers and sisters, who are listening to me from Rome and from the whole world, with joy I announce to you the message of Christmas: God became man, he came to dwell among us. God is not far away: he is near, indeed, he is the "Emmanuel", God-with-us. He is not a stranger: he has a face, that of Jesus.

It is a message that is always new, always surprising, because it goes beyond our wildest hopes. Above all, because it is not just an announcement: it is an event, a happening, that credible witnesses have seen, heard, touched in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth! Being with Him, observing His deeds and listening to His words, they recognised in Jesus the Messiah; and seeing Him resurrected, after He had been crucified, they were certain that He, true man, was at the same time true God, the only-begotten Son come from the Father, full of grace and truth (cf. Jn 1:14).

"The Word became flesh". Faced with this revelation, the question once again arises in us: how is this possible? The Word and the flesh are opposite realities; how can the eternal and omnipotent Word become a frail and mortal man? There is but one answer: Love. He who loves wants to share with the beloved, wants to be united with him, and Sacred Scripture presents us with precisely the great story of God's love for his people, culminating in Jesus Christ.

In reality, God does not change: He is true to Himself. The one who created the world is the same one who called Abraham and revealed his name to Moses: I am who I am ... the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ... a merciful and gracious God, rich in love and faithfulness (cf. Ex 3:14-15; 34:6). God does not change, He is Love from everlasting and for ever. He is in Himself Communion, Unity in the Trinity, and His every work and word aims at communion. The incarnation is the culmination of creation. When Jesus, the Son of God made man, was formed in Mary's womb by the will of the Father and the action of the Holy Spirit, creation reached its apex. The ordering principle of the universe, the Logos, began to exist in the world, in a time and a space.

"The Word became flesh". The light of this truth is manifested to those who accept it with faith, because it is a mystery of love. Only those who open themselves to love are enveloped in the light of Christmas. So it was on the night of Bethlehem, and so it is also today. The incarnation of the Son of God is an event that happened in history, but at the same time goes beyond it. In the night of the world, a new light shines, which can be seen by the simple eyes of faith, by the meek and humble heart of those who await the Saviour. If truth were only a mathematical formula, it would in a sense impose itself. If, on the other hand, Truth is Love, it demands faith, the 'yes' of our heart.

And what, indeed, does our heart seek, if not a Truth that is Love? It is sought by the child, with its questions, so disarming and stimulating; it is sought by the young person, in need of finding the profound meaning of his or her life; it is sought by the man and woman in their maturity, to guide and sustain their commitment in the family and at work; it is sought by the elderly person, to give fulfilment to earthly existence.

"The Word became flesh". The proclamation of Christmas is also light for the peoples, for the collective journey of humanity. The 'Emmanuel', God-with-us, has come as King of justice and peace. His Kingdom - we know - is not of this world, yet it is more important than all the kingdoms of this world. It is like the leaven of humanity: if it were missing, the force that drives true development would fail: the drive to work together for the common good, to selfless service of neighbour, to peaceful struggle for justice. Believing in the God who wanted to share our history is a constant encouragement to engage in it, even in the midst of its contradictions. It is a reason for hope for all those whose dignity is offended and violated, because the One who was born in Bethlehem came to free man from the root of all slavery.

May the light of Christmas shine once again in the Land where Jesus was born, and inspire Israelis and Palestinians to seek a just and peaceful coexistence. May the consoling proclamation of the coming of Emmanuel soothe the pain and console the dear Christian communities in Iraq and throughout the Middle East in their trials, giving them comfort and hope for the future, and inspire the leaders of nations to active solidarity with them. Let this also be done in favour of those in Haiti who are still suffering from the consequences of the devastating earthquake and the recent cholera epidemic. Likewise let us not forget those in Colombia and Venezuela, but also in Guatemala and Costa Rica, who have suffered the recent natural disasters.

May the birth of the Saviour open up prospects of lasting peace and genuine progress for the peoples of Somalia, Darfur and Côte d'Ivoire; promote political and social stability in Madagascar; bring security and respect for human rights to Afghanistan and Pakistan; encourage dialogue between Nicaragua and Costa Rica; and foster reconciliation in the Korean Peninsula.

May the celebration of the birth of the Redeemer strengthen the spirit of faith, patience and courage in the faithful of the Church in mainland China, so that they may not lose heart in the face of restrictions on their freedom of religion and conscience and, persevering in fidelity to Christ and His Church, keep the flame of hope alive. May the love of 'God with us' grant perseverance to all Christian communities suffering discrimination and persecution, and inspire political and religious leaders to commit themselves to full respect for the religious freedom of all.

Dear brothers and sisters, "the Word became flesh", he came to dwell among us, he is the Emmanuel, the God who became close to us. Let us contemplate together this great mystery of love, let us let our hearts be enlightened by the light that shines in the grotto of Bethlehem! A Happy Christmas to all!

[Pope Benedict, Urbi et Orbi Message 25 December 2010].