Pope Benedict: Homily at Christmas Eve Mass; Christmas Day Urbi et Orbi Message

December 24, 2009

At Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica-- celebrated this year at 10:00 PM on Christmas Eve-- Pope Benedict called upon Christians to imitate the vigilant, simple shepherds who made God the priority of their lives.

"Dear Brothers and Sisters!" he began. "'A child is born for us, a son is given to us' (Is 9:5). What Isaiah prophesied as he gazed into the future from afar, consoling Israel amid its trials and its darkness, is now proclaimed to the shepherds as a present reality by the Angel, from whom a cloud of light streams forth: 'To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord' (Lk 2:11)."

During his Urbi et Orbi ("To the City and the World") Message on Christmas Day, Pope Benedict reflected on the "us" for whom the Lord was born. "Wherever there is an 'us' which welcomes God’s love, there the light of Christ shines forth, even in the most difficult situations ... In Europe and North America, the 'us' of the Church urges people to leave behind the selfish and technicist mentality, to advance the common good and to show respect for the persons who are most defenceless, starting with the unborn."

 

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Further information:

• Midnight Mass, Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord: Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI
• Program for the Mass (Holy See)
• Urbi et Orbi Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI