Christmas once again!

During the run up to Christmas, it would be wonderful if we could experience in our family or neighbourhood, the excitement of young children looking at the crib. With eyes shining and full of wonder, for the first time they ask themselves the most important questions regarding human existence: who is Jesus? What did He do? Why was he born in a cold and miserable cattle-shed?

Perhaps these are the same questions that the shepherds asked themselves when, having been given the news by an angel, they went, full of excitement and hope, to the stable in Bethlehem. Those shepherds, who stood in adoration before our Saviour and left full of joy, telling all those they met the good news about the arrival of the Messiah, those very shepherds can be a model for us all.

In our times, the general lifestyle does not teach us much about the humility of God, who became a small, poor human being, subject to human frailty, just for us. On the contrary, our mindset tends to ignore this fundamental aspect of God’s love, in favour of a misconceived sense of power and greatness. We need only look at man’s destruction of the natural world over the last fifty years to see where such arrogance might lead us.

Saint Francis would not have agreed. Let’s look again at a section from his letter to the ‘Rulers of the People’: and so, my lords, this is my advice. Put away all worry and anxiety and receive this holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ fervently in memory of Him. See to it that God is held in great reverence among your subjects; every evening, at a signal given by a herald or in some other way, praise and thanks should be given to the Lord God Almighty by all the people. If you refuse to see to this, you can be sure that you will be held to account for it on the Day of Judgement before Jesus Christ, your Lord and God.

This is a strong reminder to all of those in positions of power, but also to the rest of us. At the centre of our family and of our occupations, we must maintain this constant union with the mystery of Jesus Christ made man, of God who is the Father of us all, and of the Holy Spirit, the Love which unites all people with God. All our actions should be rooted in truth and justice and, if we are capable of this, they cannot but bring us ever closer to God. Saint Francis’ mysticism does not deny mankind’s greatest needs, but finds the living answer to all questions through faith in Christ and in His teachings. Only in this way will we learn to live like brothers and sisters, helping good to triumph over evil.

It is that stable in Bethlehem which should be the starting point for all our actions. As the shepherds, for whom the Baby Jesus, asleep in a humble manger, represented a turning point in their lives, so for us, that same Baby must represent the basis of all our thoughts and deeds.

This Christmas, let us try to recover that genuine wonder at this mystery, so that we can be reborn spiritually and transform our instinctive love for that small New-Born Child into a great mission of love for God and for our neighbour. This is our Christmas wish for you, our dear readers. May the Lord bless and reward you for the kindness and love which you show us throughout the year.