Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – In the countries of Christian tradition, no one can deny that Christmas is the most 'intimate' time of year. Without a doubt the dominant materialism tries to increasingly diminish the Christian meaning of this feast every year, either giving greater importance to the New Year's celebration or simply presenting it as an affectionate family gathering.
Christ, born of Mary, is the Word. He is the light that enlightens every man who comes into this world (cf. Jn 1:9). All men, in their heart, feel the need for a Savior. Those who sincerely seek the deeper meaning of their existence beyond the ephemeral, find in their hearts a thirst for the infinite that nothing and no one can quench. They are aware of this desire for the eternal and yet experience their inability to reach it on their own. The Church's mission to present the light of Christ to the world, because the fullness of truth she has received cannot be reserved for her alone. As a neo-John the Baptist, every baptized person must be "a witness to the light."
Benedict XVI says that "to reach Jesus, the true light, the sun that dispels all the darkness of history, we need light near us, human people who reflect Christ's light and thus illuminate the path to take” (Angelus 8 December 2007). This "reflect" the light is essential to the mission of the Church. We must be clear to reflect, to let God shine through. The aspiration to holiness makes the testimony of the light credible. But we can ask: what is light? Is it just a suggestive metaphor or is there an image that corresponds to the reality? The Pope's words help us to answer this question. "The Apostle John writes in his First Letter: 'God is light; in him there is no darkness' (I Jn 1: 5); and further on he adds: 'God is love.' These two affirmations, taken together, help us to understand better."(Homily on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, January 6, 2006). God is light because He is love, and we ourselves become people who "illumine" in the measure in which we love. Thus, we are testimonies of the light, in as much as we are witnesses of love.
When the Pope says that the peoples of the world should recognize in the Incarnate Word the light that enlightens all humanity, he is saying that all men should recognize God's love for them. "For God so loved the world that gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16).
The medieval theologian William of St. Thierry once said: God saw that his greatness - from Adam - provoked resistance, that man felt limited in his being and threatened in his freedom. That is why God has chosen a new path. He has become a child. He has become dependent and weak, in need of our love. Now – this God who has become a child says to us – you can no longer fear me, you can only love me. When we realize that the God of love has become incarnate for us in the Child of Bethlehem, it is easier to open the doors to Christ, because everyone wants to open the doors to love.
To learn how to be people who let the light shine forth, we contemplate Mary. What creature was brighter than her? May Mary, the dawn that announces the Sun of Righteousness which comes from above (cf. Luke 1.78), be for all people the Star of Hope, the teacher who shows us how to be "a reflection of the Light." (Agenzia Fides 28/11/2009)
