His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI held his weekly general audience this morning in the Paul VI Hall and dedicated his catechesis to the mystery of the Lord's Nativity, noting that "our first reaction to this extraordinary event of God Who becomes a child ... is joy". This "arises from a sense of heartfelt wonder at seeing how God comes close to us and cares for us; how He acts in history. ... It arises from a contemplation of the face of that humble child because we know that it is the Face of God. ... Christmas is a time of joy ... because God - Who is the goodness, life and truth of mankind - comes down to man's level in order to raise man to Himself. God comes so close that we can see and touch Him". For this reason, the Pope explained, "Christmas is the point at which heaven and earth unite. ... In that needy Child ... what God is (eternity, strength, sanctity, life, joy) unites with what we are (weakness, sin, suffering death)"….
Benedict XVI also turned his attention to another aspect of Christmas, symbolised by light. "Christ's coming dissipates the shadows of the world and fills the holy night with a celestial splendour, spreading the radiance of God the Father over the faces of men, even today", he said. "After having spoken and intervened in history through messengers and signs, 'He appeared', He came out of His inaccessible light in order to illuminate the world". All Christians must be aware of their mission and responsibility to bear witness to the new light of the Gospel, and to bring it to the world. The Church receives the light of Christ "to be illuminated thereby and to spread it in all its splendour. And this must also come about in our own lives"….
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During this Christmas season as we continue to contemplate “the Mystery of God Who became man in humility and poverty,” how do we “make His feelings, His thoughts, His actions our feelings, thoughts, and actions”?
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