Christmas Sunday meditation “celebration of peace and joy” – Vatican News

Readings: Is: 52.7-10; PS: 97 (98),1-6; He: 1.1-6; John: 1.1-18.

“Today a Savior was born to you… He is the Messiah, the Lord“. This is the message that resounds today in our churches. It is a message of peace and joy.

And on this Christmas Sunday, the texts of the liturgy invite us to rejoice precisely because a child has been born to us, a son is given to us. But what does this mean for us today?

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah announces God’s salvation to a people in exile. He invites the people to go beyond their suffering to see “how beautiful on the mountains are the footsteps of the messenger, the one who announces peace, who brings the good news that announces salvation“. How do these words of the prophet ring in our hearts today? What does Christmas mean to us? On this Christmas Sunday, the prophet invites us to meditate on the beauty of Peace and the beauty of those who are its messengers.

Dear brothers and sisters, our world, our families, our relationships, our lives are often full of conflicts, misunderstandings, misunderstandings. Now, to celebrate Christmas is to celebrate the Prince of Peace. Today, therefore, our mission is to communicate peace. To celebrate Christmas is to become messengers who announce the Peace of Christ. Beyond its festive character, the Christmas party invites us to examine our conscience on our way of living with ourselves and with others. Are our words, our gestures, our thoughts really acts of peace and joy? On this Christmas Sunday, the announcement of the angels continues to resound:Glory to God in the highest; and peace on earth to the men He loves“. What are we doing to bring about this peace and this love of God in our lives and in our relationships?

Dear brothers and sisters, the best of the benefits of the child Jesus is the gift of Peace. But the world despises her. Everywhere, hearts are still divided. Misunderstanding sets in. And our human relationships become strained. Let us therefore not be those who perpetuate conflicts, but rather let us be messengers of peace and joy. Christ comes into our humanity to give us peace of heart and the joy of living. And to carry out his work of salvation, Christ needs our hands, our hearts, our intelligence. He needs our lives so that peace and joy will reign henceforth. On this Christmas day, the child Jesus asks us a question: what are you doing to make life better in your family and in your relationships? It is through our words of peace, our gestures of healing and our expressions of joy that the reign of God can come not only in our hearts, but also in our families and in our relationships.

In today’s Gospel we read that “the Word was the true Light, which enlightens every man coming into this world“. And later, Jesus will reveal himself as the Light of the world. And he will say:whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life“. On this Christmas day, we receive Christ the Light of the world. It is a mission because we are thus called to keep this light lit in us in order to be able to offer it to others. This light of Christ is peace, joy, love.

On this Christmas Sunday, may the child Jesus bring to everyone’s heart the peace and joy they need. Amen!