December 24, 2024
On this Christmas night, as the vanquished devil bangs his deafening, dissonant drums in our distressed world, a peaceful silence envelops all things, the silence of the Father's glory. No voice is heard. At the manger, neither the shepherds nor the Magi heard the Father's voice say: “This is my beloved Son, listen to him”. It is the Virgin Mary who invites them to listen to the silence of the Infant, the One who does not speak. On this Christmas night, we receive the first lesson in Christian theology, given by the Word made flesh, lying in a manger, He, the Lamb of God who will give Himself as the Bread of Life to each and every one of us. Before giving himself as the Word of God, the Word gives himself to us in a substantial silence, that of his infinite love for each one of us.
We have to be small and poor like the shepherds, and thirsty for truth like the Magi, to receive the Father's wisdom through the tenderness of the Infant Jesus. This wisdom not only comforts us, it fills our hearts with immense joy: God loves us. This is the mystery of Christmas: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son...”. St. Thomas Aquinas, in a beautiful writing on mercy, tells us that “God loves us as if we were something of himself.” The Word of God assumed our human nature in his person. Through the mystery of the Incarnation, our humanity becomes “something of God”, so perfectly is it united to him. What an extraordinary mystery of love, and what a secret entrusted to each and every one of us!
So let us too, following in the footsteps of the shepherds and Magi, hasten to the crib, kneel and bow before the Infant Jesus, the Word made flesh to be crucified and glorified for us. Let us come to adore him, let us come to find true rest with him. Let us come to receive the fullness of his joy. Let us receive the joy not only of being redeemed and saved, but of being adopted, of being children of God, beloved children of the Father. This is indeed the greatest gift that can be given to man. Let not the joy of Christmas presents and festive meals replace the joy of this extraordinary gift from the Father, but let the healthy joy of family gatherings, with all their traditions, draw its depth from the pure joy of the Virgin Mary's Heart, and from the silence of the child.
Finally, let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us become powerful intercessors in the crib for this suffering world. Let us place in the crib all those entrusted to our care and hope for them, let us rejoice deeply for them, for we who walked in darkness have seen a great light...
Merry Christmas!
