Christmas Homily 2024

Good news and great joy to all the world. Today we celebrate the birth of Our Saviour, Christ the Lord.

The birth of Our Lord in Bethlehem contains countless wonders for our admiring contemplation. No matter how long you spend contemplating Our Lord’s birth there is no end to the insight and grace one can receive from the divine mystery.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO PONDER THIS MYSTERY for THEREIN THEY SHALL NOT SEE THE POMP EXTRAVAGANCE OF THE WORLD: BUT THERE THEY SHALL FIND THE KING OF KINGS, ALMIGHTY GOD IN ALL HUMILITY AND MEEKNESS.

But why did God come to us?

Because He loved us.

Because He wanted to save us from a life of sin and wickedness.

Because He doesn’t want us to be ruled by the devil or our sinful desires.

Because He wanted to offer us salvation, offering us True Life which had been lost by sin.

Because He wanted us to have:

the chance to know Him,

the chance to love Him

and the chance to choose Him. He who is the Way and the Truth.

God came because we were lost and we had no means of finding or returning to Him.

Without God what does man seek? Honour, Power, Riches and Pleasure. These things do not lead to God. Maybe people might live a simple life but nor does that lead to God. Some people may concern themselves with doing good, maybe because they know it is the right thing to do, but seeking only earthly goods for others does not lead to God. Without God man seeks only the things of this world.

Would it not be good that God revealed Himself to those who do seek God? There were plenty of religions, people have worshipped a number of gods. Those that say that all religions worship the same God usually are people who have very little knowledge of any religion. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (Jn 14:6).

Our Lord came to lead us to the Father. Our Lord came to tell us to change our lives. God came to us because we were lost. We followed other gods. The gods of the pagans are demons (Psalm 95:5). We lived lives as children of these other gods. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires (Jn 8:44). These gods give no life and have no power to save. Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Act 4:12). They have usurped the position of God in our lives and promise us nothing but vanities.

And so we rejoice that Our God has come to us. To save us, to set out for us the way to heaven. Who can look at the baby Jesus and not feel the joy that comes from heaven. The birth of Our God and Saviour marks the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and the beginning of the New Covenant between God and man. His birth reveals God's immense love for us. His birth reveals God Himself to us. What joy can compare to being with God. God's presence is the ultimate source of peace, joy, and fulfillment surpassing all earthly experiences and pleasures.

St. Augustine famously said, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."

St. Thérèse of Lisieux: "Jesus, my joy is to love You. My peace is to be near You. My happiness is to be with You."

St. Francis of Assisi: "My God and my all! What a great God we have, who is so good and so loving!"