Christmas Day Mass

Mass Celebrated by Archbishop Denis Hart
at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne,
on Christmas Day, 25th December, 2004, at 11.00am

Introduction

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

“All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.”
(Psalm 97, Verse 3)

Welcome to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral where we celebrate the birth of our Saviour. We realise that our God reaches into our own daily life to inspire and encourage us.

As a sign of our unity with Pope John Paul and the Church throughout the world, I will give the Blessing of the Holy Father at the end of Mass, invoking the prayers of Saints Peter and Paul, with whom I share perfect unity in worship, teaching and service as your bishop in this Archdiocese.

As we call to mind our sins, let us ask the Lord that he will enable us to give hope to others, as we have received strength from our living Lord.

Homily

“From his fullness we have all received grace in return for grace … no one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”
(John 1:17-18)

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this feast of Christmas when our God came to be one of us we realise our need of each other. Our human imperfection, the struggles that we have and yet his coming to share our life make us realise the true value of each of us.

Jesus, the child, is born. In appearance just another of the world’s many children; born in a stable, poor among the poor. Yet we know he is the only Son of the Father. God chose to enter our human nature, to take on the sufferings of those who are refugees, sick in hospital, lonely and burdened, to shoulder the unresolved hopes and the regrets of older people, to be in the midst of us, one of us, giving us hope.

When we pray in the Creed in a few moments, “By the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was made man”, we will sink to our knees because our God coming to us is such a wondrous event. Yet it is reassuring and human. He entered a lonely and cold stable. The angel told the shepherds: “Do not be afraid - for you is born a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.”

We realise that we are ordinary people and we go running to meet the Lord. He immediately changes our vision of life and of each other. Saint John tells us that Jesus is the true light that darkness could not overpower. This gives us hope to realise at Christmas that we can begin anew, that we are not on our own, and that our God will carry us if only we say, “I believe. Yes, Lord,” and accept him, repent of our sins and begin a new way of life.

Christmas is followed by Boxing Day when the marvel and wonder of Christmas; the music, the joy, the festivity give way to yet another day when our life’s problems seem to recur. We must remember that it was for thirty of his thirty-three years that Jesus lived an ordinary family existence to show us how every day is God’s gift.

Pope John Paul has stressed for all Catholics that this year is to be the Year of the Eucharist, placing importance on Sunday Mass as our weekly meeting with Christ, which will strengthen us for the week and enable us to reach out, to walk with our brothers and sisters in society with the words and deeds that Jesus will give us.

Despite our pressures and busyness this is an important challenge. Indeed a gift, because we will listen to him who is our life and our hope. Jesus shows us that we can see our world differently. Too much blood is still being shed on the earth, too much violence and too many conflicts trouble nations and people and Jesus comes to bring us peace. As Pope John Paul said last Christmas: “For us a child is born.” In his simplicity Jesus teaches us to rediscover the meaning of our existence, to be one with him, to live upright and godly lives in this world.

We are invited to be regular at the Sunday Eucharist, where we hear Jesus speaking and receive him, to be strengthened in our working for life and the respect for others in family, community and society that only we can give. Above all, to offer hope and a new vision to a world which has forgotten what it is to hope and has laid aside the possibility of change. Jesus is to rekindle our hope, fill us with wonder and assure us of the triumph of love over hatred, of life over death.

So we pray: “Jesus, may the radiance of your birth light up the night of the world. May the power of your message of love thwart the proud snares of the evil one. May the gift of your life make us understand even more clearly the worth of the life of each human being. You come to bring us peace. You are our peace.”

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.