How much joy fills a family when a new member is born! That little one who for nine months was only hope and expectation can now be seen, carried, and embraced. This simple yet immense human joy is only a glimpse of the joy that should fill the heart of every Christian on this Solemnity of Christmas. For the Son of God wanted to be born as one of us; He chose to assume our fragility and fully share our human condition.
The readings of this day are full of jubilation: “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth; break into jubilant song, sing praises” (Sal 97, 3-4). This is a joy that can only be born from deep contemplation of the mystery we celebrate today.
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that God, “having spoken in many ways, has now spoken to us through his Son; He is the radiance of his glory and the exact imprint of his being” (Heb 1:1-3). For us, this mystery is overwhelming: God himself is revealed in Jesus Christ, his living Word, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14).
Christmas must be a time of profound gratitude: God has drawn near, has made his dwelling among us, and has chosen to share our story. To contemplate the Child of Bethlehem—small, fragile, without a dignified place to be born—is to enter the very heart of the divine mystery. There, in what is humble and small, God becomes close and understandable.
However, in a world increasingly noisy and absorbed by haste, we run the risk of reducing Christmas to a merely consumerist event. We let ourselves be drawn by sales, gifts, abundant tables, and external celebrations, forgetting what is most important: the God who comes to meet us, silent and humble.
The words of Saint John still resonate strongly today: “He came to his own, and his own did not recognize him” (Jn 1:11). Many times, we allow ourselves to be carried away by a superficial Christmas, losing sight of its Center. To live Christmas authentically is to contemplate the mystery of a God who becomes a poor, simple, and defenseless Child—a God who invites us to recognize him in so many children and families who today continue to lack dignified conditions in which to live.
Let us celebrate this Christmas by loving more, embracing more, sharing more. Let us look at those beside us with tenderness, and at those who suffer with generosity. Let us contemplate the God who reveals himself to us in his Son Jesus, and from there proclaim with our lives what we have contemplated, so that we may say, with truth and hope: Merry Christmas!
Sr. María Santos Martínez O.P.
Province of Saint Martin de Porres
