Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem's Christmas 2008 Homily

On that night, Christ divides history into two parts: since then, there is a before Him and an after Him. That which was impossible before Him, becomes possible. We celebrate today that blessed night that changed the course of history, hearts full of joy. We who come from different countries, some nearby and others far off, like the shepherds, we surround the Child in the Grotto this night in order to adore Him and thank Him for having illuminated our history through His Incarnation.

Welcome to this divine Child! Welcome to the Christmas message and the joy of Christmas and the Christmas presents which bring back the smile to the faces of both the little and the big. This new Child is the fruit of the love of the Eternal Father for humankind, a love which desires for us more than we desire for ourselves. It wants a peace that we have lost, a loss to which we have resigned ourselves; mutual love which no longer exists to the point that it has disappeared even from our vocabulary; respect and dignity, so often battered by maltreatment, by insults and the spilling of blood.

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Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life, Christmas, Church Year / Liturgical Seasons