24 December 2023 – Christmas Eve

by His Eminence Cardinal Sebastian Francis

Christmas Message Video by His Eminence Cardinal Sebastian Francis

Dear sons and daughters, dear brothers and sisters, fratelli tutti. It is with great joy, the joy of the Gospel that I bring greetings and blessings of Advent and Christmas to all of you.

And there are two greetings here. The first is taking you back 2000 years and celebrating the birth of the baby Jesus. The second greeting is taking you forward to the second final glorious coming of Christ, at the end of time, and inviting us to celebrate the first coming and to prepare for the second coming as promised.

So once again, Selamat Hari Natal 2023 in this synodal year of our beloved church.

God bless you.

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HOMILY

We Asians are storytellers. Jesus was from Asia, from the ancient near-East and He was the best storyteller. At the Asian Mission Congress in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2006, it was said that in Asia we share the story of Christ. We simply tell the story of Christ with our fellow Asians and beyond. The youngest Cardinal in the world is from Mongolia. And this Cardinal of Mongolia, Cardinal Gorgio, said something similar that in Mongolia, they whisper the Gospel to one another as friends. They whisper the Gospel.

At this Christmas, the birth of Christ, we Asians, Christians, Catholics and all who love Jesus, we Asians have a story to tell. The birth of Christ – we have a story to share with everyone. It is a story with three parts.

First part: to share the JOY of the birth of Jesus Christ with all men and women of peace and goodwill, who seek God with a sincere heart. The JOY of the Gospel.

The second part of the story: to share the Gospel of the MERCY & COMPASSION of the Father of Jesus Christ. At His birth, with all shepherds, kings, children, migrants, refugees, prisoners and all people of God, no one will be left out as we share this story.

The third part of this story is to share the story of HOPE. HOPE always comes from the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son to all men and to all women. The Pope reminded me when he made me a Cardinal in a letter. It is about the universality of the message. It is about the universal brother and sister and we must hold on to this no matter what wars are being fought in the name of God or religion or politics. We have a story and it is a story of HOPE.

Asia is young, one of the youngest continents. And the church in Asia must share and proclaim the Gospel with the young and energetic spirit. I have been saying wherever I could say it: Thank God. And this message is not just for Catholics. It is for all Asians:
Thank God for the sacrifices of Asians who keep planet earth young with the gift of children (I see several children here today). This is the ultimate sacrifice. This was the sacrifice of Joseph and Mary.

Keep the child at the centre of the narrative and you will never go wrong. That is what the greatest storyteller, Jesus Christ did, talking about the kingdom of God. He did not put the Pope or the Cardinals or anyone at the centre of the narrative. He put the CHILD at the centre of the narrative and as long as we keep the child at the centre of the narrative, we will not go wrong.

This spirit of the church in Asia and beyond is an Inclusive Spirit. It is a Creative Spirit. It is a Bridge Building Spiritual Energy.

Thank you, Joseph, Saint Joseph.
Thank you, Mary, Mother Mary for the gift of baby Jesus to the world at Christmas. It is not just a gift to the church, to the Catholic church or to the Christians. It is a gift to the whole world.

It takes a village (Fr Joachim said that a few days ago at Saint Joseph’s Home). It takes a village to form or to raise a child. The child Jesus was formed and raised not only by the Holy Family of Joseph and Mary but by the entire village of Nazareth. By their relatives and friends. By the children who played with Him in His younger days in the village.

Stop having this solitary idea of the Holy Family. This solitary idea of Jesus. Asia believes that it is the community that forms the child in each one of us. 

I say to you what the Angel of the Lord said to the shepherds on that beautiful morning: Do not be afraid of whatever is going on whether it be natural disasters, wars, prejudice, hatred, bad politics in whichever part of the world. Do not be afraid because we have a story to tell and it is a story of Hope not of despair. A story of hope and we keep that alive tonight and every other night. Do not be afraid.

In order to eliminate fear, you have got to listen. If you don’t listen, you will continue to live in fear. And that is what the Angel said tonight, to the shepherds. They were afraid. Listen. Do not be afraid. The more you listen, the less you fear and the more you will continue to be a storyteller. I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people, fratelli tutti, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.

So repeat after me the last verse there. I will say, you repeat:

GLORY to God in the highest heaven, and PEACE to men and women who ENJOY (real Joy, not artificial joy, superficial joy) God’s favour.

Click below to listen to the homily and watch the video:-

Click to live-stream Mass on 24 December 2023