Hardly had You come into the world, O Divine Child, when Your parents had to flee with You to Egypt. The obedience of Your adoptive father, St. Joseph, in leaving immediately after having received this order in a dream, is admirable (Mt 2:13-14).
Toil, hardship and adversity, suffering and death characterise this world as a consequence of sin, and we would be lost forever if it were not for the fact that You came to us and brought us the light of hope. Read More
As Jews faithful to the Law of the Lord, eight days after Your birth Your parents circumcised You and gave You the name of Jesus, the Saviour (Lk 2:21).
When, forty days later, they brought You to the Temple to present You to the Lord, You met Simeon, one of the faithful of Your people (Lk 2:22-25). The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen you. And so it happened! Filled with the Holy Spirit and taking You in His arms, He pronounced over You those unforgettable words: Read More
Beloved Child, we could exult with joy without ceasing, especially when we look at Your incomparable Mother and Saint Joseph….
What warmth surrounds the Holy Family! With its humanity, permeated by the Spirit of God, it sanctifies the core of human society: the family. Read More
You wanted to choose simple people: they were shepherds (Lk 2:8-20). You, Beloved Child, love simplicity. You can enter more easily into a simple heart.
And You also make us simple. It is not necessary to know everything at once. It is more important to let Your love burn in us and to hasten like shepherds to pass on the Good News. Read More
“Glory sing the cherubs in the fields of Bethlehem…”
You are not only the joy of Israel and of all mankind; you are also the joy of the angels, our friends in heaven.
How you must have rejoiced, beloved angels, when you recognised in God’s light His immense Wisdom in choosing this way of salvation!
Your songs of joy resound again in our hearts: “Glory to God in the highest heaven!” (Lk 2:14) Read More
Now you are here, Divine Child!
What moved You to come to us, to such a hostile world?
The reason can only lie in Your immeasurable love for our Heavenly Father, and in Your infinite love for us men.
Who can understand it?
I simply believe it and I can perceive it in Your smile! Read More
How long the Israelites waited for the Messiah! Then, when he came and the promises began to be fulfilled, they did not recognise him. What a tragedy! Now the believing Jews are still waiting for him… They are also waiting for the coming of the Prophet Elijah, who is to precede the Messiah. But he too has already come: “If you will believe me, he is the Elijah who was to return”, says Jesus, referring to John the Baptist (Mt 11:14).
O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.
O Emmanuel, King and Master
all that you say and do
serves as instruction and for our salvation.
You teach us the right way (Mt 22:16);
You reveal to us the mystery of man…
You are our Lord and our Master (Jn 13:13)!
O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.
All peoples are waiting for you, O King of nations.
Deep down they know it:
There must be the One who truly loves us;
There must be the One whom we willingly serve,
There must be the One who does not take advantage of us for his own interests,
He who does not oppress us,
The One who can be trusted without reservation!
O Morning Star,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those
who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
When Thou, O Sun of righteousness, arisest,
thus diffusing the uncreated light,
You pierce through all darkness
and everywhere comes life, true life.
