Christmas Message 'Urbi et Orbi' of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
“A holy day has dawned upon us. Come you nations and adore the Lord. Today a great
light has come upon the earth.” Dear Brothers and Sisters! “A holy day has
dawned upon us.” A day of great hope: today the Saviour of mankind is born. The
birth of a child normally brings a light of hope to those who are waiting anxiously.
When Jesus was born in the stable at Bethlehem, a “great light” appeared on earth;
a great hope entered the hearts of those who awaited him: in the words of today’s
Christmas liturgy, “lux magna”. Admittedly it was not “great” in the manner of this
world, because the first to see it were only Mary, Joseph and some shepherds, then
the Magi, the old man Simeon, the prophetess Anna: those whom God had chosen. Yet,
in the shadows and silence of that holy night, a great and inextinguishable light
shone forth for every man; the great hope that brings happiness entered into the
world: “the Word was made flesh and we saw his glory” (Jn 1:14).
“God is light”,
says Saint John, “and in him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1:5). In the Book of Genesis
we read that when the universe was created, “the earth was without form and void,
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and
there was light.” (Gen 1:2-3). The creative Word of God – Dabar in Hebrew, Verbum
in Latin, Logos in Greek – is Light, the source of life. All things were made through
the Logos, not one thing had its being but through him (cf. Jn 1:3). That is why
all creatures are fundamentally good and bear within themselves the stamp of God,
a spark of his light. Nevertheless, when Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, the Light
himself came into the world: in the words of the Creed, “God from God, Light from
Light”. In Jesus, God assumed what he was not, while remaining what he was: “omnipotence
entered an infant’s body and did not cease to govern the universe” (cf. Saint Augustine,
Sermo 184, No. 1 on Christmas). The Creator of man became man in order to bring peace
to the world. For this reason, during Christmas night, the hosts of angels sing:
“Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to those whom he loves” (Lk 2:14).
“Today
a great light has come upon the earth”. The Light of Christ is the bearer of peace.
At Midnight Mass, the Eucharistic liturgy begins with this very chant: “Today true
peace has come down to us from heaven” (Entrance Antiphon). Indeed, it is only the
“great” light manifested in Christ that can give “true” peace to men: that is why
every generation is called to welcome it, to welcome the God who in Bethlehem became
one of us.
This is Christmas – the historical event and the mystery of love,
which for more than two thousand years has spoken to men and women of every era and
every place. It is the holy day on which the “great light” of Christ shines forth,
bearing peace! Certainly, if we are to recognize it, if we are to receive it, faith
is needed and humility is needed. The humility of Mary, who believed in the word
of the Lord and, bending low over the manger, was the first to adore the fruit of
her womb; the humility of Joseph, the just man, who had the courage of faith and
preferred to obey God rather than to protect his own reputation; the humility of
the shepherds, the poor and anonymous shepherds, who received the proclamation of
the heavenly messenger and hastened towards the stable, where they found the new-born
child and worshipped him, full of astonishment, praising God (cf. Lk 2:15-20). The
little ones, the poor in spirit: they are the key figures of Christmas, in the past
and in the present; they have always been the key figures of God’s history, the indefatigable
builders of his Kingdom of justice, love and peace.
In the silence of that
night in Bethlehem, Jesus was born and lovingly welcomed. And now, on this Christmas
Day, when the joyful news of his saving birth continues to resound, who is ready to
open the doors of his heart to the holy child? Men and women of this modern age,
Christ comes also to us bringing his light, he comes also to us granting peace! But
who is watching, in the night of doubt and uncertainty, with a vigilant, praying heart?
Who is waiting for the dawn of the new day, keeping alight the flame of faith? Who
has time to listen to his word and to become enfolded and entranced by his love?
Yes! His message of peace is for everyone; he comes to offer himself to all people
as sure hope for salvation.
Finally, may the light of Christ, which comes to
enlighten every human being, shine forth and bring consolation to those who live in
the darkness of poverty, injustice and war; to those who are still denied their legitimate
aspirations for a more secure existence, for health, education, stable employment,
for fuller participation in civil and political responsibilities, free from oppression
and protected from conditions that offend against human dignity. It is the most vulnerable
members of society – women, children, the elderly – who are so often the victims of
brutal armed conflicts, terrorism and violence of every kind, which inflict such terrible
sufferings on entire populations. At the same time, ethnic, religious and political
tensions, instability, rivalry, disagreements, and all forms of injustice and discrimination
are destroying the internal fabric of many countries and embittering international
relations. Throughout the world the number of migrants, refugees and evacuees is
also increasing because of frequent natural disasters, often caused by alarming environmental
upheavals.
On this day of peace, my thoughts turn especially to those places
where the grim sound of arms continues to reverberate; to the tortured regions of
Darfur, Somalia, the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the border between
Eritrea and Ethiopia; to the whole of the Middle East – especially Iraq, Lebanon
and the Holy Land; to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, to the Balkans and to
many other crisis situations that unfortunately are frequently forgotten. May the
Child Jesus bring relief to those who are suffering and may he bestow upon political
leaders the wisdom and courage to seek and find humane, just and lasting solutions.
To the thirst for meaning and value so characteristic of today’s world, to the search
for prosperity and peace that marks the lives of all mankind, to the hopes of the
poor: Christ – true God and true Man – responds with his Nativity. Neither individuals
nor nations should be afraid to recognize and welcome him: with Him “a shining light”
brightens the horizon of humanity; in him “a holy day” dawns that knows no sunset.
May this Christmas truly be for all people a day of joy, hope and peace!
“Come
you nations and adore the Lord.” With Mary, Joseph and the shepherds, with the Magi
and the countless host of humble worshippers of the new-born Child, who down the centuries
have welcomed the mystery of Christmas, let us too, brothers and sisters from every
continent, allow the light of this day to spread everywhere: may it enter our hearts,
may it brighten and warm our homes, may it bring serenity and hope to our cities,
and may it give peace to the world. This is my earnest wish for you who are listening.
A wish that grows into a humble and trustful prayer to the Child Jesus, that his light
will dispel all darkness from your lives and fill you with love and peace. May the
Lord, who has made his merciful face to shine in Christ, fill you with his happiness
and make you messengers of his goodness. Happy Christmas!
After the Urbi
et Orbi Christmas message, Pope Benedict delivered Christmas greetings in 63 languages
of the world. 15 of them were in Asian languages, namely, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam,
Bengali, Burmese, Urdu, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Sinhala, Thai, Indonesian,
Cambodia and Tagalog of the Philippines. Here are the greetings beginning with
English:
Christmas
greetings over; Pope Benedict concluded by imparted his special Christmas ‘Urbi et
Orbi’ blessing. A cardinal announced that all those following the event in St. Peter’s
Square as well as via radio and TV could obtain a plenary indulgence in keeping with
the rules established by the Catholic Church. An indulgence is the full or partial
remission of temporal punishment in purgatory, due for sins which have already been
forgiven. There are certain conditions that a person seeking an indulgence must fulfil,
most importantly a total detachment from sin. Hence those receiving the Pope’s special
blessing for Christmas could obtain a full indulgence. Listen to the Pope's blessing
in Latin: