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“And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling
clothes
and lying in a manger.”
~ Lk 2:7
“On this Holy Night the ancient promise is fulfilled: the
time of waiting has ended... Jesus is born for a humanity searching for freedom
and peace; he is born for everyone burdened by sin, in need of salvation, and
yearning for hope…
On this night God answers the ceaseless cry of the peoples:
Come, Lord, save us! His eternal Word of love has taken on our mortal flesh…
Emmanuel, God-with-us, is born…
Mary "gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him
in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.” This is the icon of Christmas:
a tiny newborn child, whom the hands of a woman wrap in poor cloths and lay in
a manger. Who could imagine that this little human being is the "Son of
the Most High" (Lk 1:32)? Only she, his Mother, knows the truth and guards
its mystery. On this night we too can recognize in this Child the human face of
God. We too… are able to encounter Christ and to gaze upon him through the eyes
of Mary.
The Child… is God's sign… a sign of hope for the whole human
family; a sign of peace for those suffering from conflicts of every kind; a
sign of freedom for the poor and oppressed; a sign of mercy for those caught up
in the vicious circle of sin; a sign of love and consolation for those who feel
lonely and abandoned.
A small and fragile sign, a humble and quiet sign, but one
filled with the power of God who out of love became man.
Lord Jesus, together with the shepherds we
draw near to your Crib.
We contemplate you, wrapped in swaddling
clothes and lying in the manger.
O Babe of Bethlehem, we adore you in silence
with Mary, your ever-Virgin Mother.
To you be glory and praise for ever, Divine Savior
of the World! Amen.
From the homily of St. John Paul II, Midnight Mass, Dec. 24th,
2002
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