The annual celebration of Christmas not only recalls Christ’s birth,
it celebrates his continue presence in the world and in history, Pope
Benedict XVI said.
The Pope hosted his first general audience of the new
year, Jan. 5, sheltered from the cold of Rome in the Vatican's Paul VI
Hall.
In his message to a crowd of thousands, many of whom are still on
vacation from work and school, he focused on the meaning of the
Christmas liturgies.
Christmas continues to fascinate people, he said, "because everyone
in one way or another is intuitively aware that the birth of Jesus
concerns man's most profound aspirations and hopes."
The world is again renewed in the light of Christ in a "mysterious,
yet real way" during Christmas. And, "each (liturgical) celebration is
the real presence of the mystery of Christ and a prolongation of the
history of salvation," he said.
By celebrating Christ's birth, the mysteries of the salvation he
brings are brought to the present. They become "real ... effective for
us today" through the sacraments, he explained.
The Pope pointed out the connection between Christ's birth and his
later passion, death and resurrection. Christmas represents the
beginning of the mystery that reaches its culmination at Easter, he
explained.
"In Jesus, the Word Incarnate, our salvation is accomplished in the
flesh. Jesus’ humbling of himself, beginning with his conception in the
womb of the Virgin Mary, will find its fullest expression in the paschal
mystery of his death and resurrection."
In order to understand that Christmas is "not just a memory, but a
presence ... it is important to live the Christmas period intensely, as
the Church presents it," said Pope Benedict.
"The celebration of Christmas does not only present us with examples
to imitate, such as the humility and poverty of the Lord, His
benevolence and love for mankind; rather it is an invitation to let
oneself be transformed totally by the One Who entered our flesh.
“The aim of God becoming manifest was that we might participate in
divine life, and that the mystery of His incarnation might be realized
in us. This mystery is the fulfillment of man's vocation,” he concluded.
SIC: CNA/INT'L