Category: Advent & Christmastide

Holy Family, the Octave of Christmas

Holy Family PVeronese.jpgFather, help us to live as a holy family, united in
respect and love. Bring us to the joy and peace of your eternal home.



from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The
hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus by
the most ordinary events of daily life:

The home of Nazareth is the school
where we begin to understand the life of Jesus – the school of the Gospel.
First, then, a lesson of silence. May esteem for silence, that admirable and
indispensable condition of mind, revive in us. . . A lesson on family life. May
Nazareth teach us what family life is, its communion of love, its austere and
simple beauty, and its sacred and inviolable character… A lesson of work.
Nazareth, home of the “Carpenter’s Son”, in you I would choose to
understand and proclaim the severe and redeeming law of human work. . . To
conclude, I want to greet all the workers of the world, holding up to them their
great pattern their brother who is God.

The finding of Jesus in the temple
is the only event that breaks the silence of the Gospels about the hidden years
of Jesus. Here Jesus lets us catch a glimpse of the mystery of his total
consecration to a mission that flows from his divine sonship: “Did you not
know that I must be about my Father’s work?” Mary and Joseph did not
understand these words, but they accepted them in faith. Mary “kept all
these things in her heart” during the years Jesus remained hidden in the
silence of an ordinary life. (533-534)

from the Directory of Popular Piety and the Liturgy on the Feast of the Holy Family

The feast of the holy family of Jesus, Mary and
Joseph (Sunday in the Christmas octave) is a festive occasion particularly
suitable for the celebration of rites or moments of prayer proper to the
Christian family. The recollection of Joseph, Mary and Jesus’ going up to
Jerusalem, together with other observant Jewish families, for the celebration
of the Passover (cf. Lk 2:41-42), should normally encourage a positive
acceptance of the pastoral suggestion that all members of the family attend
Mass on this day. This feast day also affords an opportunity for the renewal of
our entrustment to the patronage of the Holy Family of Nazareth; the
blessing of children as provided in the ritual; and where opportune, for
the renewal of marriage vows taken by the spouses on their wedding day, and
also for the exchange of promises between those engaged to be married in which
they formalize their desire to found a new Christian family.

Outside of
the feast, the faithful have frequent recourse to the Holy Family of Nazareth
in many of life’s circumstances: joining the Association of the Holy Family so
as to model their own families on the Holy Family of Nazareth; frequent
prayers to entrust themselves to the patronage of the Holy Family and to obtain
assistance at the hour of death. (112)

Thanks is due to St Francis of Assisi for the Nativity Scene



Just prior to Christmas Pope Benedict XVI reflected on
Saint Francis of Assisi’s gift to the Church in 1223 of the Nativity scene.
Then, as now we see Humility, Jesus, encountering the nihilism of the world, a
people who entranced with violence and anger now faced with the Prince of
Peace, the true king of the universe.


In homes and Churches across the world it is typical to see a Nativity scene prepared. Over the years my family has had a small nativity scene present in our home. It is not a great piece of art and it is not something we’ve done historically, but it is something that is now a regular part of our Christmas decorations. In fact, it is left out throughout the year as I move it around the house as a small reminder of the God becoming one of us.


But let’s not forget that a Nativity scene and Christmas tree is not that old of a tradition for St. Peter’s Square. John Paul II made the Nativity scene in St Peter’s Square a priority in 1982 because he felt the world needed to encounter the image of God made man, Jesus, the Eternal Word of God come into our humanity history. Thinking that the crèche still had relevance for the modern person in 2004, John Paul said of the Nativity scene,

Christmas is upon us and in many places people are setting up a crèche, like here in St Peter’s. Whether big or small, fancy or simple, the crèche is a familiar and expressive representation of Christmas. It is part of our culture and art but a sign of faith in God who, in Bethlehem, ‘made his dwelling among us (Jn 1:14). As I do every year, I shall bless the “Bambinelli,” the statues of Baby Jesus. which will be placed in the crèche on Holy Night, joining Joseph and Mary, who are silent witnesses of a sublime Mystery. With loving eyes, they tell us to wait and pray in order to welcome the Divine Savior who is coming to bring the world the joy of Christmas.


Pope Benedict speaks about Saint Francis’ gift of the Crib

St Francis & crib Giotto.jpg

With St. Francis and his
nativity, the defenseless love of God was shown, his humility and goodness,
which in the incarnation of the Word is manifested to man so as to teach a new
way to live and to love. He saw a little child lying still in a manger; the
child woke up because Francis approached… ‘This vision was not different than
real life, since through the work of his grace acting by way of his holy
servant Francis, the Child Jesus was resurrected in the hearts of many. Thanks
to St. Francis, the Christian people have been able to perceive that at
Christmas, God truly has become Emmanuel, God-with-us, from whom no barrier or
distance can separate us. In this Child, God has come so near to each one of
us, so close, that we can address him with confidence and maintain with him a
trusting relationship of deep affection, as we do with a newborn. In this
Child, in fact, God-Love is manifested: God comes without weapons, without
strength, because he does not aim to conquer, we could say, from without, but
rather wants to be welcomed by man in liberty. God becomes a defenseless Child to
conquer man’s pride, violence and desire to possess. In Jesus, God took up this
poor and defenseless condition to conquer with love and lead us to our true
identity … so that he concedes to our hearts this simplicity that recognizes
the Lord in this Child, precisely as Francis did in Greccio. Then, we too can
experience what […] happened to those present […] ‘Each one returned to his
house filled with an ineffable joy. 

Benedict’s 2009 Christmas message to the world

Lux fulgebit hodie super nos, quia natus est nobis Dominus.
(A light will shine on us this day, the Lord is born for us.)

(Roman Missal, Christmas, Entrance Antiphon for the Mass at Dawn)

The liturgy of the Mass at Dawn reminded us that the night is now past, the day has begun; the light radiating from the cave of Bethlehem shines upon us.

The Bible and the Liturgy do not, however, speak to us about a natural light, but a different, special light, which is somehow directed to and focused upon “us”, the same “us” for whom the Child of Bethlehem “is born”. This “us” is the Church, the great universal family of those who believe in Christ, who have awaited in hope the new birth of the Savior, and who today celebrate in mystery the perennial significance of this event.

B16 Urbi.jpgAt first, beside the manger in Bethlehem, that “us” was almost imperceptible to human eyes. As the Gospel of Saint Luke recounts, it included, in addition to Mary and Joseph, a few lowly shepherds who came to the cave after hearing the message of the Angels. The light of that first Christmas was like a fire kindled in the night. All about there was darkness, while in the cave there shone the true light “that enlightens every man” (Jn 1:9). And yet all this took place in simplicity and hiddenness, in the way that God works in all of salvation history. God loves to light little lights, so as then to illuminate vast spaces. Truth, and Love, which are its content, are kindled wherever the light is welcomed; they then radiate in concentric circles, as if by contact, in the hearts and minds of all those who, by opening themselves freely to its splendour, themselves become sources of light. Such is the history of the Church: she began her journey in the lowly cave of Bethlehem, and down the centuries she has become a People and a source of light for humanity. Today too, in those who encounter that Child, God still kindles fires in the night of the world, calling men and women everywhere to acknowledge in Jesus the “sign” of his saving and liberating presence and to extend the “us” of those who believe in Christ to the whole of mankind.

Wherever there is an “us” which welcomes God’s love, there the light of Christ shines forth, even in the most difficult situations. The Church, like the Virgin Mary, offers the world Jesus, the Son, whom she herself has received as a gift, the One who came to set mankind free from the slavery of sin. Like Mary, the Church does not fear, for that Child is her strength. But she does not keep him for herself: she offers him to all those who seek him with a sincere heart, to the earth’s lowly and afflicted, to the victims of violence, and to all who yearn for peace. Today too, on behalf of a human family profoundly affected by a grave financial crisis, yet even more by a moral crisis, and by the painful wounds of wars and conflicts, the Church, in faithful solidarity with mankind, repeats with the shepherds: “Let us go to Bethlehem” (Lk 2:15), for there we shall find our hope.

The “us” of the Church is alive in the place where Jesus was born, in the Holy Land, inviting its people to abandon every logic of violence and vengeance, and to engage with renewed vigour and generosity in the process which leads to peaceful coexistence. The “us” of the Church is present in the other countries of the Middle East. How can we forget the troubled situation in Iraq and the “little flock” of Christians which lives in the region? At times it is subject to violence and injustice, but it remains determined to make its own contribution to the building of a society opposed to the logic of conflict and the rejection of one’s neighbour. The “us” of the Church is active in Sri Lanka, in the Korean peninsula and in the Philippines, as well as in the other countries of Asia, as a leaven of reconciliation and peace. On the continent of Africa she does not cease to lift her voice to God, imploring an end to every injustice in the Democratic Republic of Congo; she invites the citizens of Guinea and Niger to respect for the rights of every person and to dialogue; she begs those of Madagascar to overcome their internal divisions and to be mutually accepting; and she reminds all men and women that they are called to hope, despite the tragedies, trials and difficulties which still afflict them. In Europe and North America, the “us” of the Church urges people to leave behind the selfish and technicist mentality, to advance the common good and to show respect for the persons who are most defenceless, starting with the unborn. In Honduras she is assisting in process of rebuilding institutions; throughout Latin America, the “us” of the Church is a source of identity, a fullness of truth and of charity which no ideology can replace, a summons to respect for the inalienable rights of each person and his or her integral development, a proclamation of justice and fraternity, a source of unity.

In fidelity to the mandate of her Founder, the Church shows solidarity with the victims of natural disasters and poverty, even within opulent societies. In the face of the exodus of all those who migrate from their homelands and are driven away by hunger, intolerance or environmental degradation, the Church is a presence calling others to an attitude of acceptance and welcome. In a word, the Church everywhere proclaims the Gospel of Christ, despite persecutions, discriminations, attacks and at times hostile indifference. These, in fact, enable her to share the lot of her Master and Lord.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, how great a gift it is to be part of a communion which is open to everyone! It is the communion of the Most Holy Trinity, from whose heart Emmanuel, Jesus, “God with us”, came into the world. Like the shepherds of Bethlehem, let us contemplate, filled with wonder and gratitude, this mystery of love and light! Happy Christmas to all!

Benedictus PP XVI, Christmas 2009

That Nostalgia for the Infinite

There is a phrase of Dostoevsky that accompanies me these days, when I have to speak of Christianity to all kinds of people in Italy and abroad: “Can an educated man, a European of our time, believe –truly believe– in the divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ?” This question rings like a challenge for all of us. It is precisely on the answer to this question that the success of the faith depends today. In an address given in 1996, the then cardinal Ratzinger answered that faith can have this hope “because it finds a correspondence in human nature. In man there is a nostalgic hope for the infinite that cannot be extinguished.” In this phrase he indicated the condition necessary: that Christianity needs to find the humanity that pulsates in each of us in order to show all the greatness of its claim.

Yet how many times are we tempted to look at the concrete humanity in which we find ourselves–for example the unease, the dissatisfaction, the sadness, the boredom–as an obstacle, a complication, an impediment to the realization of what we desire. Thus we get angry with ourselves and with reality, succumbing to the weight of circumstances, in the illusion of going ahead by cutting away a piece of ourselves. But unease, dissatisfaction, sadness, and boredom are not symptoms of a illness to treat with medicines; this happens more and more often in a society that mistakes disquiet of the heart for panic and anxiety. They are rather signs of what the nature of the “I” is. Our desire is greater than the whole universe. The perception of emptiness in us and around us of which Leopardi speaks (“want and emptiness”), and the boredom of which Heidegger speaks, are the proof of the inexorable nature of our heart, of the boundless character of our desire–nothing is able to give us satisfaction and peace. We can forget it, betray it, or even deceive it, but we cannot shuffle it off.

Nativity & Adoration FBartolo.jpgSo the real obstacle on our journey is not our concrete humanity, but disregard for it. Everything in us cries out the need for something to fill the void. Even Nietzsche perceived this; he could not but address the “unknown god” that makes all things. “Left alone, I raise my hands/ … to the unknown god / I want to know you, you the Unknown,/ Who penetrate deep into my soul, / Shake up my  life like a storm,/ Beyond my grasp and yet so close to me!” (1864).

Christmas is the announcement that this unknown Mystery has become a familiar presence, without which none of us could remain a man for long, but would end up overwhelmed by confusion, seeing his own face decompose, because “only the divine can ‘save’ man, that is to say, the true and essential dimensions of the human figure and his destiny” (Fr. Giussani).

The most convincing sign that Christ is God, the greatest miracle that astonished everyone–even more than the healing of cripples and the curing of the blind–was an incomparable gaze. The sign that Christ is not a theory or a set of rules is that look, which is found throughout the Gospel: His way of dealing with humanity, of forming relationships with those He met on His way. Think of Zacchaeus and of Magdalene: He didn’t ask them to change, but embraced them, just as He found them, in their wounded, bleeding humanity, needful of everything. And their life, embraced, re-awoke in that moment in all its original profundity. 
Who would not want to be reached by such a look now? For “one cannot keep on living unless Christ is a presence like a mother is a presence for her child, unless Christ is a presence now -now! – I cannot love myself now and I cannot love you now” (Fr. Giussani). This is the only way, as men of our time, reasonably and critically, to answer Dostoevsky’s question.

But how do we know that Christ is alive now? Because his gaze is not a fact of the past, but is still present in the world just as it was before. Since the day of His resurrection, the Church exists only in order to make God’s affection an experience, through people who are His mysterious Body, witnesses in history today of that gaze capable of embracing all that is human.

Father Julián Carrón
President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation
Corriere della Sera
24 December 2009

Christmas Novena, Ninth Oration

O God, Who in Your very nature contain all the riches
of heaven and earth, You loved the poverty of humanity by choosing to become
one of us. You are the descendant of Kings and the Heir of David the Venerable.
You were satisfied to be born in a stable and a humble manger. We beseech You,
through Your Pure Nativity and through the intercession of Your Mother and Saint
Joseph, Your Chosen One, to grant us an appreciation of voluntary poverty.


May
we be satisfied with only that which is necessary for the maintenance of our lives.
Teach us to flee from excessive luxury and the love of abundance all the days
of our lives. Amen.

The Christmas tree points to the Divine Mystery

Vatican Christmas Tree.jpgThe Pope received the bishop and a delegation from Wallonia, from
where this year’s Vatican Square Christmas tree came from, to say thank you for gift on behalf of the Church. He said, “The role
of this tree is similar to that of the shepherds who, watching through the
shades of night, saw how the darkness was illuminated with the message of the
angels. … Standing next to the nativity scene the tree indicates, in its own
particular way, the great mystery present in the poor and simple grotto. It
proclaims the arrival of the Son of God to the inhabitants of Rome, to pilgrims
and to everyone who sees St. Peter’s Square on television. Though this tree
your land, and the faith of the Christian communities in your region, greet the
Christ Child.” (Benedict XVI)

Christmas Novena, Eighth Oration

O King of Great Counsel, You joined Your admirable power
with the prudence of human judgment when You, the Mighty and All-Powerful God,
fled into Egypt from the face of Herod. We beseech You, through Your Pure
Nativity and through the intercession of Your Mother and Saint Joseph, Your
Chosen One, to grant us good judgment in all our actions, that we may think and
act wisely all the days of our lives as we subject ourselves to Your divine
service. Amen.

Christmas Novena, Seventh Oration

O You Who are One person but also have the Nature of
man; You Who have told us what You have heard from the Father; We beseech You,
through Your Pure Nativity and the intercession of Your Mother and Saint
Joseph, Your Chosen One, to grant us an ardent belief in Your teachings and
good acts to harmonize with them. Do not permit us to lose the reward of our
faith because of our own wrong doings. Rather, make our lives fruitful in
beliefs and good works. Amen.

Bethlehem make ready…friends be alert

Adoration of the Magi SBotticelli.jpg

Bethlehem, make ready,

for Eden has been opened for all.

Ephrathah, be alert,

for the Tree of Life has blossomed forth

from the Virgin in the cave.

Her womb has become a spiritual paradise

wherein the Divine Fruit was planted,

and if we eat of it,

we shall live and not die like Adam.

Christ is coming forth to bring back to life

the likeness that had been lost in the beginning.

Bethlehem, make ready, for Eden has been opened for all!

(a Byzantine poetic text for the time before the Nativity of the Lord)