Mass During the Night (Isaiah 9:1-6)
Mass at Dawn (Isaiah: 62:11-12)
1. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” The “glory of the Lord” was showing around the shepherds, and the wise men followed the star. Doesn’t the whole world need “the true light, which enlightens everyone”? What makes Christ the true light? Would you consider wars, the climate crisis, and social injustice, as “darkness” in the world right now, problems that need the “true light”? How can you spread the light in your part of the world?
2. “For Zion’s sake I will not be silent.” Do you know people like Archbishop Romero, Rutilio Grande and John Lewis, who did not keep silent about Christ’s justice and truth? Who are the people in your world today who do not “keep silent”? Are you unable to keep silent with your works/actions as well as with words?
Second Reading
Mass During the Day
(Hebrews 1:1-6)
1. “In time past, God spoke in partial and various ways.” When Jesus came, God spoke directly to us. Does he
still speak to us today through the Holy Spirit, “whom he richly poured out on us”? Does he/she speak to you
in homilies, books, the poor people, friends, in prayer, in joy, in sorrow, in beauty, in love?
Everywhere?
2. Not “… because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy. … ” Why did the Father send his
Son to be with us? Could it be that the Father loved us so much he had to send his Son to be with us, and
that, in showing us how much he loved us, we would be motivated to return his love?
Gospel
Mass during the
Night (Luke 2:1-14)
1. “In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God. … He was in the world.” What is John saying about the Christ, creation, and the book of Genesis? Was Christ’s salvific mission universal for all people and all creation?
2. Why did God go to such lengths that he became flesh and assumed our human frailty? Would we have known how much he loved us if he hadn’t? What does Pope Francis say?
God so greatly desires to embrace our lives that, infinite though he is, he becomes finite for our sake. In his greatness, he chooses to become small; in his righteousness, he submits to our injustice. Brothers and sisters, this is the wonder of Christmas: not a mixture of sappy emotions and worldly contentment, but the unprecedented tenderness of a God who saves the world by becoming incarnate.
Let us contemplate the Child, let us contemplate the manger, his crib, which the angels call “a sign” for us (cf. Luke 2:12). For it truly is the sign that reveals God’s face, a face of compassion and mercy, whose might is shown always and only in love. He makes himself close, tender and compassionate, for this is God’s style: closeness, compassion, tenderness.
Pope Francis Christmas homily for Midnight Mass
Dec 23, 2023
