The Nativity of the Lord Read more
The Nativity of the Lord
First Reading
Isaiah 9,1-6
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; on the inhabitants of a country in shadow dark as death light has blazed forth. You have enlarged the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest time, as they exult when they are dividing the spoils. For the yoke that weighed on it, the bar across its shoulders, the rod of its oppressor, these you have broken as on the day of Midian. For all the footgear clanking over the ground and all the clothing rolled in blood, will be burnt, will be food for the flames. For a son has been born for us, a son has been given to us, and dominion has been laid on his shoulders; and this is the name he has been given, 'Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace' to extend his dominion in boundless peace, over the throne of David and over his kingdom to make it secure and sustain it in fair judgement and integrity. From this time onwards and for ever, the jealous love of Yahweh Sabaoth will do this.
Psalmody
Psalm 96
Antiphon
Let the upright rejoice in the Lord.
The Lord is king, let the earth rejoice,
let all the coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his raiment;
his throne, justice and right.
A fire prepares his path;
it burns up his foes on every side.
His lightnings light up the world,
the earth trembles at the sight.
The mountains melt like wax
before the Lord of all the earth.
The skies proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.
Let those who serve idols be ashamed,
those who boast of their worthless gods.
All you spirits, worship him.
Zion hears and is glad;
the people of Judah rejoice
because of your judgements O Lord.
For you indeed are the Lord
most high above all the earth
exalted far above all spirits.
The Lord loves those who hate evil :
he guards the souls of his saints;
he sets them free from the wicked.
Light shines forth for the just
and joy for the upright of heart.
Rejoice you just, in the Lord;
give glory to his holy name.
Second Reading
Titus 2,11-14
You see, God's grace has been revealed to save the whole human race; it has taught us that we should give up everything contrary to true religion and all our worldly passions; we must be self-restrained and live upright and religious lives in this present world, waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus. He offered himself for us in order to ransom us from all our faults and to purify a people to be his very own and eager to do good.
Reading of the Gospel
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Glory to God in the highest
and peace on earth to the people he loves.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 2,1-14
Now it happened that at this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be made of the whole inhabited world. This census -- the first -- took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee for Judaea, to David's town called Bethlehem, since he was of David's House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. Now it happened that, while they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the living-space. In the countryside close by there were shepherds out in the fields keeping guard over their sheep during the watches of the night. An angel of the Lord stood over them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, 'Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.' And all at once with the angel there was a great throng of the hosts of heaven, praising God with the words: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace for those he favours.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Homily
The Christmas Gospel speaks of Mary and Joseph's journey uphill. Yes, we too must "go up" to Bethlehem, to that cave. And there, the angel tells us today as he told the shepherds, 'you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." From that manger the new story begins. It begins with a small group of shepherds, humble and despised people. It may seem a minor, secondary story, and yet it is the event that radically changes the world. Christmas asks us to welcome that child, "Prince of Peace." He is unarmed, yet "His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace," writes the prophet Isaiah. That child has the face of the many children of this world who weep for war and violence, and asks us to welcome the immense cry of those who no longer have hope for the future. In that child is the dream of a renewed, saved world. The Apostle Paul writes to Titus: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all." Yes, on this night - the night of an inhuman world - the mystery of Christmas returns so that the proclamation of the Gospel to the poor may be stronger, so that the prophecy of peace may be higher.
Let us welcome the mystery of Christmas! Let us not be afraid to be reborn with that Child! Of allowing ourselves to be guided by Him. Last night, with the beginning of the Jubilee year, a door was opened in history, through which God returns to give us with Jesus his mercy and the hope of renewing our hearts and the life of the world. This Christmas only asks us to be reborn with him to live from his love. He asks it of us as he asked of those shepherds who, after seeing the child, "returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." Not only did they not despise him, they welcomed him with joy and immediately began to speak of him: "After they had seen him they reported what had been told them about the child." They welcomed him and became shepherds of men and women. They were ignorant, but they received new and wise words to communicate the joy of Christmas. With them began a new story that has continued down the centuries and comes down to us. So many await the Gospel to rise to a more serene life, so many await the community to dream of peace, they knock on its doors to ask for help and stretch out their hands to be taken and accompanied. That child is the answer to the need for love that rises from this world of ours.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
