Christmas is always an opportunity to contemplate God in a Child,
which is an amazing mystery.
Saint Josemaria said in one of his homilies that
all the words and all the actions of Jesus Christ in His Humanity,
they all make known to us God's "way of being."
So in looking at the Christ Child, putting ourselves in the scene,
we are not only seeing God but also His way of being.
And what is God's way of being,
which we discover in Bethlehem, and on the Cross, and throughout his whole life?
That God is Love.
As Saint John says in one of his letters: "God is Love."
And He manifests it in many ways: so overwhelmingly on the Cross,
but also by becoming a Child, giving Himself to us, in Mary's arms,
as a defenseless Child, who gives Himself to us in this way.
We have to believe in God's love for us.
It's not about arriving at a philosophical conclusion,
or one based solely on the analysis of ancient texts,
of the Gospel texts.
It's a question of faith:
to believe in God's love for us.
This is also a way to focus our attention correctly at Christmas:
having faith in God's love for us.
As Saint John says in one of his letters:
"We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us."
We have to believe. That's why we have to ask for faith.
And looking at the Child in the nativity scene,
we need to ask Him for faith: "Increase our faith!"
So as to really see You as truly God and as God's love for us.
And what would Our Lady have done?
God did not spare her from suffering,
nor from experiencing the "light-filled darkness" of faith,
because faith includes an element of not seeing.
Faith is precisely faith in "things not seen."
Our Lady had an immense faith,
proportional to her "fullness of grace,"
but at the same time, with this faith she also had a great love.
How would Mary have looked upon Our Lord? With great faith and love.
And that's what we need to try to do,
with her help, going to her intercession.
Our Lord wanted to be born in poverty, without proper shelter,
accompanied certainly by the great affection of Our Lady and Saint Joseph,
but also with some poor animals,
and then the poor shepherds.
We need to also find Him in those most in need.
Christmas also speaks to us of those who are alone,
those who have nothing, and accompanying them
with our prayer and, to the extent possible, with our deeds,
with generosity, with solidarity.
I would ask all families to put special care into the family atmosphere in their homes during Christmas.
Not just because it's nice to do so:
it's also part of being in harmony with the way God reveals Himself to us
through the Humanity of Christ.
The family is where people grow and learn,
where people mature, where they are welcomed and loved,
and it's also where they have their first opportunity and find the environment
for this essential element of maturity, which is giving ourselves to others.
Peace! The world is very much in need of peace.
We all see this every day.
Saint Josemaria used to say there will be no peace in society and the world until there is peace in people's hearts.
And where is peace?
Saint Paul says, "He is our peace." Christ is our peace.
So the peace we should seek with our actions
and with our prayer is that of seeking Christ and sharing Him with others.
Also in the scene of his Birth, where He places Himself in our hands,
so that we might take Him with us everywhere.
I send my warmest greetings for this Christmas to all of you listening to me,
and I hope it is not just a celebration (although of course it should be filled with joy),
but above all may it be about finding Our Lord, in the nativity scene, certainly,
but also in your ordinary life,
where He is always awaiting us.