ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,

As Archbishop of Philadelphia I extend a warm welcome to all of you as we begin together our Christmas celebration 2010. It is a special joy for me to announce to you once again the Christmas message of God’s love. In our celebration this evening, we bend our knee in adoration before the Child in the crib of Bethlehem. It is so important for us to understand the identity of this Child and to accept the message that His Birth reveals to the world.

Once again we gather to listen to the angel’s proclamation to the shepherds in Bethlehem when Jesus Christ was born: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a Savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.... You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

It is uplifting and encouraging for us to hear these words at a time when our world lives with anxiety, consternation and great uncertainity! But the angel says: “Do not be afraid.... a Savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord.”

After centuries of waiting and preparation on the part of the Chosen People, God sent the Savior into the world to bring us peace, to take away our sins and to teach us how to live.

But who is this Savior, this Christ and Lord, this Jesus born as a little child in Bethlehem?

He is the Son of the Virgin Mary. She it is who conceived the Child in her womb, gave Him birth and nourished Him at her breasts. We see her represented in the crib scene. The Child is her Son.

The Child is also the foster Son of Joseph the carpenter, the husband of Mary. It is Joseph who will protect the Child and help bring Him up, since the Child had no human father. Jesus was conceived in an extraordinary way by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is His Father and He is the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity. Before His birth He already existed as the eternal Word of God, the eternal Son of the eternal Father.

These then are the two most important truths about Christ’s person, the two identifying characteristics of the Child: He is true God, because He is the Son of God. He is true Man, because He is the Son of Mary.

But the Child is one Person. He is a Divine Person and His name is Jesus, which means Savior. He has, however, two natures: the nature of God—a divine nature; and the nature of man—a human nature.

In every way He is like His Father. We call Him Splendor of the Father. But He is also like us in every way, except sin.

Who then is the Child of Bethlehem? He is the Son of God and He is the Son of the Virgin Mary. He is, therefore, the One who links divinity with humanity. He is the Mediator between God and man. Because He is God, He has the power to save us from our sins. Because He is human like us, He has a human body, a human soul and a human heart with which to love us and to die for us, in order to save us from our sins and to bring us peace.

How beautiful are the words of the prophet Isaiah: “A child is born to us; a son is given to us; upon his shoulders dominion rests.” Among His titles is “Prince of Peace.” Isaiah also tells us that the Child who is born as Savior is the Light of the World. Let us listen to Isaiah: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” How wonderful is this light today in our world that has so much darkness!

In answer to our question: Who is this Child? this Christ? this Jesus born in Bethlehem? the Church repeats: He is the Son of God. He is the Son of Mary. He is the Light of the World. But He is even more: This Child who is born to us, this Son who is given to us is the great defender of humanity.

Jesus Christ, who is God and man and who was born in Bethlehem, is the One who reveals to us the dignity of every person who shares humanity with Him and in Him is destined to share eternal life.

Jesus Christ is the One who tells us that the humanity which He has assumed, which he has embraced in the womb of the Virgin Mary, is a humanity worthy of honor, respect and love.

And everyone who possesses that humanity possesses dignity, regardless of race or ethnic background, regardless of sex, religion, culture or degree of education. The importance of a human being depends much more on what he or she is than on what he or she has or does. What is so supremely important is the fact that every man, woman and child shares humanity with the Son of Mary, with the Son of God.

Here we find the impact of Christmas on the world. Christmas means that every human life is sacred, because God has embraced human life, Christ has assumed it. Whatever wounds, weakens or destroys human life, and therefore vilifies human dignity, challenges the primacy of God, a God who “was born of the Virgin Mary and became man.” As we recite the Creed at this Mass, the Church invites us to genuflect when we say those words, in order to show that we accept the great reality of the Incarnation of the Son of God, with all its consequences.

There is no way that we can truly love and honor the humanity of Jesus Christ the Savior and at the same time reject the humanity of those whom He has loved and saved.

Dearly beloved: this holy night of Christmas challenges us to renew our faith in the Child of Bethlehem, Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Son of Mary, the Light of the World and the defender of human dignity. We are called to adore Him. But this holy night of Christmas also challenges us to follow His teaching to love and serve one another, to honor the dignity of every man, woman and child who shares humanity with the Son of God.

In this Christmas Eucharist we receive the strength and grace to honor the Child, and with Him, all those whom He loves, all those who share humanity with Him, and in Him are destined for eternal life.

Dear Friends: the angel’s message is for all of us and for the whole world: “Do not be afraid; for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For today...a Savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”

Truly we find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger. Above all, we find Him hidden in the Eucharist and there we must adore Him. But we also find Him in every human person that mirrors His glory, and there too we must love Him.

All of this; dear Friends, is the good news of Christmas—the tidings of great joy to be shared by all the people, to be shared by all of us. Amen.