Do read Pope Benedict's previous Midnight Mass homilies: they're profound:
2005,
2006,
2007
Looking forward to this year's too.
I thought of fixing bits of his quotes to the pieces of Christmas cake we serve this year. Here are some I thought were especially eloquent:
Certainly, if we are to recognize it, if we are to receive it, faith is needed and humility is needed. The humility of Mary, who believed in the word of the Lord and, bending low over the manger, was the first to adore the fruit of her womb; the humility of Joseph, the just man, who had the courage of faith and preferred to obey God rather than to protect his own reputation; the humility of the shepherds, the poor and anonymous shepherds, who received the proclamation of the heavenly messenger and hastened towards the stable, where they found the new-born child and worshipped him, full of astonishment, praising God
The little ones, the poor in spirit: they are the key figures of Christmas, in the past and in the present; they have always been the key figures of God’s history, the indefatigable builders of his Kingdom of justice, love and peace.
Men and women of this modern age, Christ comes also to us bringing his light, he comes also to us granting peace! But who is watching, in the night of doubt and uncertainty, with a vigilant, praying heart?
May the Lord, who has made his merciful face to shine in Christ, fill you with his happiness and make you messengers of his goodness.
May the mystery of Christmas enter our hearts, may it brighten and warm our homes, may it bring serenity and hope to our cities, and may it give peace to the world.
Today "our Saviour is born to the world", for he knows that even today we need him.
Our Saviour is born for all. We must proclaim this not only in words, but by our entire life, giving the world a witness of united, open communities where fraternity and forgiveness reign, along with acceptance and mutual service, truth, justice and love.
At Christmas, the Almighty becomes a child and asks for our help and protection.
Do not fear; put your trust in him!
On Bethlehem Night, the Redeemer becomes one of us, our companion along the precarious paths of history. Let us take the hand which he stretches out to us: it is a hand which seeks to take nothing from us, but only to give.
With the shepherds let us enter the stable of Bethlehem beneath the loving gaze of Mary, the silent witness of his miraculous birth. May she help us to experience the happiness of Christmas, may she teach us how to treasure in our hearts the mystery of God who for our sake became man; and may she help us to bear witness in our world to his truth, his love and his peace.
Let us entrust to Mary, who is the Mother of Mercy incarnate, particularly those situations to which the Lord's grace alone can bring peace, comfort and justice.
Obtain for us, O Mary, an authentic, pure faith. May you always be thanked and blessed, Holy Mother of God! Amen!
Do we have time for our neighbour who is in need of a word from us, from me, or in need of my affection? For the sufferer who is in need of help? Do we have time and space for God? Can he enter into our lives? Does he find room in us, or have we occupied all the available space in our thoughts, our actions, our lives for ourselves?
He finds a space, even if it means entering through the stable; there are people who see his light and pass it on.
In the stable at Bethlehem, Heaven and Earth meet. Heaven has come down to Earth. For this reason, a light shines from the stable for all times; for this reason joy is enkindled there; for this reason song is born there.
...the heart of God, during the Holy Night, stooped down to the stable: the humility of God is Heaven. And if we approach this humility, then we touch Heaven.
With the humility of the shepherds, let us set out, during this Holy Night, towards the Child in the stable! Let us touch God’s humility, God’s heart! Then his joy will touch us and will make the world more radiant.
God’s sign is simplicity. God’s sign is the baby. God’s sign is that he makes himself small for us. This is how he reigns.
He does not come with power and outward splendour. He comes as a baby – defenceless and in need of our help.
He asks for our love: so he makes himself a child.
God made himself small so that we could understand him, welcome him, and love him.
He has become our neighbour, restoring in this way the image of man, whom we often find so hard to love.
For us, God has become a gift. He has given himself.
Christmas has become the Feast of gifts in imitation of God who has given himself to us.
Among the many gifts that we buy and receive, let us not forget the true gift: to give each other something of ourselves, to give each other something of our time, to open our time to God.
During the festive meals of these days let us remember the Lord’s words: "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite those who will invite you in return, but invite those whom no one invites and who are not able to invite you"
Let us love God and, starting from him, let us also love man, so that, starting from man, we can then rediscover God in a new way!
Let us ask him to give us the humility and the faith with which Saint Joseph looked upon the child that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Let us ask the Lord to let us look upon him with that same love with which Mary saw him.
Let us ask the Lord to grant us the grace of looking upon the crib this night with the simplicity of the shepherds, so as to receive the joy with which they returned home
...let us pray that in this way the light that the shepherds saw will shine upon us too, and that what the angels sang that night will be accomplished throughout the world: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased."
Let us ask the Lord of life to soothe with his grace the sufferings caused by evil, and to continue to fortify our earthy existence by giving us the Bread and Wine of salvation to sustain us on our way towards the Heavenly Homeland.
May her motherly protection accompany us today and for ever, so that Christ will one day welcome us into his glory, into the assembly of the Saints
God has become one of us, so that we can be with him and become like him. As a sign, he chose the Child lying in the manger: this is how God is.
God seeks persons who can be vessels and heralds of his peace. Let us pray that he will not find our hearts closed.
Lord, fulfil your promise! Where there is conflict, give birth to peace! Where there is hatred, make love spring up! Where darkness prevails, let light shine! Make us heralds of your peace!
...where he is present, all bitterness disappears, and there is harmony between heaven and earth, between God and man. The honey and the sweets are a sign of this peace, of concord and of joy.
"God reveals Himself to us as a poor 'infant' in order to conquer our pride.
He made Himself small in order to free us from the human delusion of grandeur that arises from pride
He freely became flesh so that we might be truly free, free to love Him".
In the darkness of the night in Bethlehem a great light was lit: the Creator of the universe became flesh...
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