Homily of Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa for Midnight Mass, Christmas 2022
December 26, 2022
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CWN Editor's Note: Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, preached the homily at Midnight Mass in Bethlehem. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attended the Mass.
“Once again we meet each other here in Bethlehem, in this Holy Place, to thank, praise and celebrate the wonderful event of the Savior’s birth,” he preached. “Today we are invited, as every year, to bow before this great mystery, which is also a proclamation of salvation and mercy ... First and foremost, it is a celebration of God’s revelation in history; it is the manifestation of divine intention towards mankind, which reaches its climax during Christmas.”
The Latin Patriarch also lamented rising violence in the region: “with our eyes, we see that violence seems to have become our main language, our main way of communicating.”
“The Palestinian issue, unfortunately, no longer seems to be the focus of the world’s attention,” he added. “This, too, is a form of violence, which hurts the conscience of millions of Palestinians, left increasingly alone and who, for too many generations, have been waiting for an answer to their legitimate desire for dignity and freedom.”
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