Christmas Thoughts

It was a great joy to be able to celebrate my first Christmas Mass. One thing that struck me was the fact that pretty much all the communicants at Mass were so joy-filled. May the Infant Jesus find a warm welcome in the hearts of all His people!

A couple of hours after celebrating the Vigil Mass of the Nativity, I tuned in to the Holy Father's homily at his Midnight Mass in St Peter's. If you've not done so already, I really recommend taking a few minutes to read it. This, my friends, is what preaching should be - the fruit of reflection, prayer, study and the guidance of the Holy Spirit:

In some Christmas scenes from the late Middle Ages and the early modern period, the stable is depicted as a crumbling palace. It is still possible to recognize its former splendour, but now it has become a ruin, the walls are falling down - in fact, it has become a stable. Although it lacks any historical basis, this metaphorical interpretation nevertheless expresses something of the truth that is hidden in the mystery of Christmas. David’s throne, which had been promised to last for ever, stands empty. Others rule over the Holy Land. Joseph, the descendant of David, is a simple artisan; the palace, in fact, has become a hovel. David himself had begun life as a shepherd.
When Samuel sought him out in order to anoint him, it seemed impossible and absurd that a shepherd-boy such as he could become the bearer of the promise of Israel. In the stable of Bethlehem, the very town where it had all begun, the Davidic kingship started again in a new way - in that child wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. The new throne from which this David will draw the world to himself is the Cross. The new throne - the Cross - corresponds to the new beginning in the stable. Yet this is exactly how the true Davidic palace, the true kingship is being built. This new palace is so different from what people imagine a palace and royal power ought to be like. It is the community of those who allow themselves to be drawn by Christ’s love and so become one body with him, a new humanity. The power that comes from the Cross, the power of self-giving goodness - this is the true kingship. The stable becomes a palace - and setting out from this starting-point, Jesus builds the great new community, whose key-word the angels sing at the hour of his birth: “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to those whom he loves” - those who place their will in his, in this way becoming men of God, new men, a new world.

Some preachers allow their learning to become an obstacle to the simple faith of many believers, whilst the Holy Father always draws us further into the meaning of the mystery.

To all my readers, I wish a Happy and a Holy Christmas, and every blessing for the New Year.