Meditation of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa: Midnight Mass - Christmas 2024

This Meditation is shared from the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Below you can find the Meditation of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem,for Midnight Mass - Christmas 2024, Sunday 24 December 2024.

Is. 9,1:16; Tit. 2,11:14; Lk. 2,1:14

(opening greetings)

Dearest Brothers and Sisters,

I frankly admit that it is hard for me this year to announce the joy of Christ’s birth to you here and to all those who look to Bethlehem from all over the world.

The Angels' song of glory, joy and peace seems to be out of tune after a tiring year full of tears, bloodshed, suffering, in addition to shattered hopes and crushed plans for peace and justice. A sad cry seems to choke the song, and powerless anger seems to paralyze every path of hope.

Over the past few weeks, I have asked myself several times how to live with this burden and even more so how to leave it behind. I have struggled with the unpleasant feeling that words, even faith-based ones, are useless when faced with the harshness of reality and a suffering that plainly seems to have no end in sight.

The figure of the Shepherds (of the Christmas story) came to my rescue as the inspiration for me to follow together with the bishops and priests of this land. We are to keep vigil in the night watching over the flock. On that night, which is this very night, they listened to the angels and believed them.

That is why I too chose once again to listen to the Christmas story, within the suffering in which we find ourselves, a context not so very different from the one of that time.

As we have just heard, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.” (Luke 2:1-5).

I was struck by this aspect: Joseph and Mary experienced the grace of Christmas, the true birth of Christ, not in a way nor at a time or under circumstances chosen by them, or particularly favorable to them. At that time, an overpowering empire ruled the world and decided its social and economic destinies. At that time, this Holy Land of ours was equally subject to the game of international interests, no less than today. Poor people had to be registered. Their labor and their toil served other people’s quality of life... Yet, without complaint, without refusal, without rebellion, Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem and here, they were open to receiving the birth of Christ in that way. Was their choice driven by resignation? By doubt, powerlessness, or incompetence? Certainly not! It was driven by faith! And faith, when genuine and deeply rooted, brings a fresh and enlightened perspective on history, for “believing is seeing!”.

And what did Joseph and Mary see? They saw, through the word of the Angel, God in history, the Word made flesh, the Eternal in time, the Son of God made Man! And that is what we also see here, tonight, enlightened by the Word of the Gospel.

This Child shows us the unprecedented and unheard-of gesture, of God who does not flee from history, does not look at it indifferently from afar. He does not reject it with indignation as if it were too painful and evil, but embraces it, loves it, enters it with the delicate and strong pace of a newborn Child. Thus eternal Life finds a place in the harshness of time, through hearts and minds willing to welcome it.

The nativity of the Lord is all about this: in His Son, the Father personally gets involved in our history and bears its burdens, He shares our sufferings and tears to the point of bloodshed and offers us a way out filled with life and hope.

However, He is not in competition with the powers of this world. The power of divine love is not simply stronger than the world, but it has a different kind of power. This Child, having lived a life like ours to the fullest shall reveal it with luminous clarity: “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants (would) be fighting to keep me from being handed over ... But as it is, my kingdom is not here” (Jn. 18:36).m

This Meditation was originally published on the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, click here to read more.