Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Otranto (Fides Service) - The annual recurrence of Christmas is an invitation to meditate anew on the extraordinary event of the incarnation of the Son of God. Although our attention may be drawn to many other things, as Christians we are called to stop and adore the Lord, lying in the manger.
Again today the Infant Jesus is born in ordinary every day events: some people know Him, others ignore Him, others, in the name of respect for non Christians, want to eliminate Him from history.
The birth of the Christ Child appears to bother many men and women today, precisely when fear and uncertainty seem to prevail. In many places wars are being waged, human life and human rights are violated, creation is destroyed and exploited irrationally, humanity has lost the ability to sense God’s presence in the world.
People are closed in continual confusion, unable to make space for profound interiority, for silence which leads to the threshold of the Mystery. Nevertheless still today despite our indifference, once again God comes as a Child wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. He reveals Himself to the shepherds, to the powerless, to the humble ones, as they keep watch at night and are illuminated by the glory of the Lord (cfr. Lk 2,8-9).
He, the One who answers every call, wishes to be found in a helpless and adorable Child, for whom, again today, ‘there is no room in the Inn’. Born in poverty, He comes to tell the men and women of the 21st century that humanity is loved by God.
Let us stop in front of the manger: it is time to contemplate and adore Emmanuel in silence. “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us " (Jn 1,14). In the stable Mary and Joseph, who exist in God, propose a new way of living in essentiality, simplicity, a life based on love and the certainty that we are each and all accepted and loved by the Lord.
No one in the stable seeks importance or limelight, all are simply witness of love who give themselves to others, who expect nothing and in this way answer the Lord’s call.
The stable is open, without barriers or protection. There is room for all in the house God has chosen for His Son. Still today men and women of good are called to celebrate the Lord’s Nativity, God’s presence on earth, the visible working of the Spirit in history .
Only after adoring Emmanuel in the stable at Bethlehem can we return to our normal surroundings to bring hope to the hopeless, sharing with them the joy of Christmas. The helpless Christ Child brings peace to the world. Diana Papa, Poor Clare Sisters, Abbess (Otranto). (Agenzia Fides 21/12/2006 - righe 36, parole 476)
