[StBernard] THE CHILD JESUS MAKES THE LOVE OF GOD MANIFEST

[Westley Annis]

THE CHILD JESUS MAKES THE LOVE OF GOD MANIFEST 

 

VATICAN CITY, 23 DEC 2009 (VIS) - In his general audience, celebrated this
morning in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope focused his remarks on the subject of
Christmas.

 

  At the beginning of his catechesis the Holy Father explained that "the
Church's liturgical year did not initially develop on the basis of Christ's
birth but on that of faith in His resurrection. Hence, the most ancient
feast of Christianity is not Christmas but Easter. The resurrection of
Christ is what founded the Christian faith, underpinned the announcement of
the Gospel and brought the Church into being".

 

  "The first person to make the clear affirmation that Jesus was born on 25
December was Hippolytus of Rome in his commentary on the Book of Daniel,
written around the year 204", said the Pope.

 

  "In the Christian world, the feast of Christmas assumed a distinct form in
the fourth century when it took the place of the Roman feast of the 'Sol
invictus', the sun unconquered. This highlighted the fact that the birth of
Christ is the victory of the true light over the darkness of evil and sin.
Yet the particular and intense spiritual atmosphere that now surrounds
Christmas developed during the Middle Ages, thanks to St. Francis of Assisi
who was profoundly enamoured of Jesus the man, of the God-with-us".

 

  "This particular devotion to the mystery of the Incarnation was the origin
of the famous Christmas celebration in Greccio. ... St. Francis with his
nativity scene highlighted the defenceless love, humility and goodness of
God, Who in the Incarnation of the Word shows Himself to mankind in order to
teach them a new way to live and love".

 

  The Pope then went on to recall the fact that the first biographer of St.
Francis, Thomas of Celano, recounted how, "on that Christmas night, Francis
was granted the grace of a marvellous vision. He saw, lying immobile in the
manger, a small child Who was reawakened from sleep by the proximity of
Francis himself".

 

  "Thanks to St. Francis, Christian people are able to understand that at
Christmas God truly became the 'Emmanuel', the God-with-us, from Whom no
barrier or distance separates us. In that Child, God became so close to each
of us ... that we can establish an intimate rapport of profound affection
with Him, just as we do with a newborn child.

 

  "In that Child", the Holy Father added, "God-Love becomes manifest: God
comes unarmed and powerless, because He does not intend to conquer, so to
say, from the outside; rather, He intends to be accepted by man in freedom.
God becomes a defenceless child to overcome man's pride, violence and thirst
for possession. In Jesus, God assumed this poor and disarming condition in
order to triumph over us with love and lead us to our true identity".

 

  "His being a Child likewise indicates to us that we can meet God and enjoy
His presence", the Pope concluded. "People who have not understood the
mystery of Christmas have not understood the decisive element of Christian
existence: that those who do not accept Jesus with the heart of a child
cannot enter the Kingdom of heaven. This is what St. Francis wished to tell
the Christian world of his time and of all times, even unto today".

AG/CHRISTMAS/...
VIS 091223 (560)