December 24, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – “The time came for Mary to be delivered,” said Pope Benedict XVI, beginning his midnight MMass homily on the Feast of the Lord’s Nativity with St. Luke’s account of Christmas. “And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Lk 2:6f.).
“These words touch our hearts every time we hear them,” the pontiff remarked.
“We can imagine the kind of interior preparation, the kind of love with which Mary approached that hour. The brief phrase: ‘She wrapped him in swaddling clothes’ allows us to glimpse something of the holy joy and the silent zeal of that preparation,” he continued.
Throughout his Christmas sermon, the third of his pontificate, Benedict XVI especially celebrated the light given with the Birth of Christ, which “shines from the stable for all times” against “the darkness of a closed world.”
Just as in Luke we encounter the maternal love of Mary and the fidelity of Saint Joseph, the vigilance of the shepherds and their great joy, just as in Matthew we encounter the visit of the wise
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at LifeSite News
The views expressed in this news alert by the author do not directly represent that of The Official Street Preachers or its editors
