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Christmas
Midnight Mass 2002
St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh.
“ Glory to God in the highest heaven and peace
to those who enjoy his favour” (Lk. 2: 14).
This night, my dear people, this Holy Night in which
“ God’s grace has been revealed (Tit. 2:11), we celebrate, we give thanks,
for He who was promised, He for whom generations of prophets and people awaited,
came in the humility of human flesh and opened His eyes on a world in need of a
Saviour. He who was and is the total fulfilment of God’s plan came to dispel
the darkness and to enlighten the way for a people lost to sin: “ The people
that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of
deep shadow a light has shone” (Is. 9:2). Gratuitously He was given,
miraculously He was born: “ For there is a Child born for us, a Son given to
us and dominion is laid on His shoulders” (Is. 9:6). For this reason the
throng of angels sang:
“ Glory to God in the
highest heaven” (Lk. 2:14), for the very reason that God’s plan for the
salvation of the world, that plan brought about by the immense love of God for
humankind, is now coming to be fulfilled. How well the angels point heavenwards,
indicating that all praise, honour and glory must be given to God the Father
because “ He loved the world so much that He gave his only Son so that
everyone who believes in Him may not be lost” (Jn. 3: 16).
The throng of angels points
heavenwards tonight, my dear friends, and we follow their thrust with our
prayers and hymns of thanksgiving. They also point earthwards when they sing:
“ peace to those who enjoy His favour” ( Lk. 2: 14).
That means you and me, all of humankind “ enjoy His favour”. No one
is excluded from “ God’s favour”, no one is ever lost because God failed
to keep him in His love. Every human person this night – those of the past,
those at present alive and those who will come in the future – are all caught
up in the embrace of the outstretched arms of the Babe of Bethlehem who has come
to reveal God the Father’s predilection for them. As Saint Paul puts it in his
letter to Titus: “ God’s grace has been revealed and it has made salvation
possible for the whole human race” (Tit. 2:11).
And yet, two thousand years
on the world has still need of hearing that Good News just as clearly as did the
shepherds on that first Christmas night. The world has still need of a Saviour.
In a world torn by dissension and doubt, in a world threatened by war and
violence, in a world where respect for the personal rights of the individual are
oftentimes lost sight of in the endeavour to draw up a Charter of global rights
for communities and Nations, humankind must stand back and reflect, must go with
the shepherds to the Manger. Every human person, so immensely loved by God, must this
night listen to the angels as they sing: “ Glory to God…and peace to
humankind”. These two dimensions
of our human living, be it as individuals, as families or as Nations, must find
themselves finely balanced in a harmony that will respect priorities. There can
be no peace on earth, there can be no respect for truth and justice, there can
be no value system in our human relationships, unless we all recognise the need
to give glory and honour to God in heaven.
Our celebration of
Christmas each year is an occasion for each one of us to take time out from our
daily chores and to stand in reverence before the new-born Babe of Bethlehem
and, in the radiance of the light that emanates from the Christmas Crib, to
examine our priorities. Can we each one ask the question tonight: What is the
message of Christmas for me this year? Am I prepared to allow that Child born
for me to touch my life and to heal my hurts, my doubts, my fears? Am I
personally prepared this night, and from this night onwards, to accept His
message, His challenge, His love? Saint Paul puts it so well in his letter to
Titus: “ God’s grace has been revealed….and taught us that what we have to
do is to give up everything that does not lead us to God” (Tit. 2:12).
There has been a frenzy
about this past few months. The stress and strain of preparing for Christmas,
the lights and the gifts, the text-messages and the e-mails, the festivities and
the banquets, all of these should be looked at and examined this night in the
light of the Manger of
Christmas is a time to look
at the quality of our faith. The birth of Jesus from the virginal womb of Mary
is not a fantasy story, as the world would like us to believe. It is the
greatest reality that has entered human history, it is an event which takes
place this very night and it is real to us now because it is not conditioned by
time or space. If our faith is weak, if we have not allowed Jesus to walk with
us along our road of life, if we have rejected Him by our lifestyle, we can very
easily succumb to the enticements and challenges of a secularist world.
Let us this night, then, this Holy night, renew our faith in the
revelation of God’s immense love for each one of us present in the Person of
His Son, Jesus. Let us accept Him as God’s personal gift to each one of us
this Christmas. Let us rejoice with Mary, the Virgin Mother, and let us
celebrate with Her, for truly
“ Today a Saviour
has been born to us; He is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:11).
+ John Magee
Bishop of Cloyne.