Christmas Message, December 2024
Christmas Message, December 2024
His Eminence Frank Cardinal Leo
Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Praised be Jesus Christ.
Christmas is a wonderful time that provides us with a unique and blessed occasion of grace to contemplate the immensity and graciousness of God's love for us and the hope and joy which this love brings to our lives. The mystery of the Incarnation - which we celebrated nine months ago on March 25th at the Annunciation – has now culminated in the birth of the child Jesus, the Prince of Peace: God becoming man out of love for us. We remember also how that same unconditional love of the Word made flesh (cf. Jn 1:14-18), invades the world as we know it with a peace that transcends all understanding (cf. Phil 4:7). Jesus Christ himself, and no other, is the light that scatters the darkness of our lives, our relationships and communities and imbues them with newness of life if only we let him into our hearts though faith and surrender to that love which knows no end and no limitations.
We celebrate the Birth of Christ among us, in our human flesh, in our world. Though he was "born of the Father before all ages and through whom all things were made", yet he was born in time, in Bethlehem, of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary; he was given birth in our very own wounded world; he is one of us, one like us in all ways, except sin. He comes to us from the heights and the glory of Paradise where he existed together with the Father and the Holy Spirit from all eternity, adored and praised by the multitude of the heavenly hosts. He leaves the loftiness of Heaven to descend among us and become like us, born in our midst to walk among us as a friend, a brother, a companion, a teacher, a Saviour, our God in the flesh.
Now why exactly did he do that? Our faith gives us a number of reasons:
First, he did it in order to save us by reconciling us with God (Cf. CCC #457). As we know, from the time of original sin to this day, humanity finds itself - we find ourselves - journeying amidst shadows and lights, with sin being, most regrettably, a part of our human condition. Original sin, our personal sins, social sins all of this amounts to a dire situation requiring a Saviour to rescue us, to save us. And so, the Father of all mercies, out of his immense an unsurpassed love for each of us and because we really needed to be saved from darkness and everlasting death, gave up His very own Son, the Beloved, the Begotten from eternity, to be our personal Saviour and that of the whole world. We are saved by the Lord from sin, Satan and the evil in its many facets. He came down to us so as to reconcile us to himself. That is why we need to ask ourselves: In my life, and at this Christmas time, am I ready to acknowledge my sins humbly and truthfully and surrender to the Lord Jesus who came precisely to save me?
Second, he did it to show us God's Love and that we come to know and experience that love (Cf.
CCC #458). Being all powerful and all knowing, all just and all merciful, after original sin and rejection, rather than abandoning humanity to its own demise, He reached out to us out of his immense love. God, who is Love, ultimately never gives up on us; he keeps on reaching out, offering us yet another chance, another opportunity to make things right. He is always there on the horizon, ready to love and to be loved by us. He became man so we may truly come to know in our own personal existence his infinite, everlasting love for each of us. Let us ask ourselves during this Christmas season: how do I welcome God's love in my life and how do I share it with others?
Third, he came down from heaven to be our model of holiness, that is, to teach us the art of living (Cf.CCC #459). We are called to holiness, to become saints. He is our teacher, and role model; he taught us by
His Eminence Frank Cardinal Leo, Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto | 1155 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario M4T 1W2