Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) - The celebration of the birth of Jesus arrives this year during a new time of calamity "in the land of our Lord’s birth". A time in which the horrors of war sow "inconsolable misery and sorrow" to countless families throughout the region. Yet, it was into such a world that "the Lord himself was born in order to give us hope", more than two thousand years ago.
Even when Jesus was born there was "the killing of children and military occupation".
At that time Christ himself "was born and lived amid great suffering" and "suffered for our sake, even unto death upon a cross, in order that the light of hope would shine into the world, overcoming the darkness". Even today, in the time of new disasters that tear entire peoples apart, hope for the whole world will indeed be born once again, beginning in Bethlehem and "extending from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth", to restore light even to those who are now "in darkness and 'shadow of death'. This is what the Heads and Patriarchs of the Churches Jerusalem stress s in their Christmas message, released thursday, December 21. A message that this year bears witness to the joyful mystery of the birth of Jesus and to the real and audacious strength of Christian hope by embracing all the pain that breaks the hearts of multitudes of men, women, old people and children in the land of Jesus Christ, "Prince of peace".
For over the past two-and-a-half months - recall Heads and Patriarchs of the Churches - "the violence of warfare has led to unimaginable suffering for literally millions in our beloved Holy Land". For those in the midst of its “ongoing horrors,” hope "seems distant and beyond reach". Yet - continue the Christian leaders of Jerusalem - "it was into such a world that our Lord himself was born in order to give us hope". Even during "the first Christmas, the situation was not far removed from that of today. Thus the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph had difficulty finding a place for their son’s birth. There was the killing of children. There was military occupation. And there was the Holy Family becoming displaced as refugees. Outwardly, there was no reason for celebration other than the birth of the Lord Jesus". Precisely in the midst of so much sin and sorrow - continues the Message of the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches, quoting the Gospels - "the Angel appeared to the shepherds announcing a message of hope and joy for all the world". In Christ’s Incarnation "the Almighty came to us as Immanuel, 'God with us,' in order to save, redeem, and transform us. This was to fulfill the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “The LORD has anointed me . . . to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor". For Christ himself "was born and lived amid great suffering. Indeed, he suffered for our sake, even unto death upon a cross, in order that the light of hope would shine into the world, overcoming the darkness”.
The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem denounce "all violent actions" in their Message. They call upon "the people of this land and arounbd the globe to seek the graces of God so that we might learn to walk with each other in the paths of justice, mercy, and peace", and "the faithful and all those of goodwill to work tirelessly for the relief of the afflicted and towards a just and lasting peace in this land that is equally sacred to the three Monotheistic Faiths. Thus conclude the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem "the hope of Christmas will indeed be born once again, beginning in Bethlehem and extending from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth—thus realizing the comforting words of Zechariah, that “the dawn from on high will break upon us to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, guiding our feet into the way of peace". (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 22/12/2023)
