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Ave Maria

Dear sisters and brothers!

W hy do we leave our com fortable hom es on the night o f 24 D ecem ber to go to church and celebrate
the solemn liturgy o f C hristm as, the M ass during the night? Certainly, many o f us will say: This is
not really a question. We do this every ye a r. I ts alw ays been so! indeed, it does seem to have
alw ays been so. It seem s that w e re sim ply doing the obvious. Nevertheless, we might ask
ourselves: Is it really obvious that one should leave the house in the late evening, a t night, and go out
into the dark?
Its not obvious, ju s t as it was not obvious on that first Christm as night, which we rem em ber and
celebrate, that the shepherds should have roam ed about in the dark o f night, across the fields on their
way to B ethlehem . T he shepherds, w ho collectively were not well thought o f at the tim e, only went
because they had heard the M essenger o f God relate a truly grand and incredible message: Today
in the city o f David a Savior has been born for y ou, w ho is Messiah and Lord. (Lk 2, 11) - There is
a sa vio r f o r you! U nderstand well: There is a sa vio r f o r you!
For us who are restless and defenseless, who d o n t know where we com e from or where we are
going, w hy we were born and w hen we m ust leave this world in the mysterious obscurity o f death,
this really is a great message: There is a Savior f o r you ; som eone who is willing and able to heal
you ; a L ord to whom you can turn: Lord, listen to m e; Lord, have m ercy! He is a fo rtre ss o f refuge in
whom you can fin d salvation ; he is the anchor o f y o u r life; a fix e d poin t which shines like a star to
which you can look f o r direction in life; a Savior, who w arm s like the sun, loves like a fa th e r and
m other, an d heals like a g o o d doctor. Men an d wom en, there is a Savior f o r you : C hrist the Lord
who is born in Bethlehem , the city o f D avid!
This m essage that the shepherds heard is the same m essage that we have heard. We have heard it
from the m essengers God has sent into our lives: our parents, who recounted to us from the time that
we were children the very things that they had heard from their parents in their own tim e, the same
m essage which w as passed dow n from one generation to the next throughout the ages. It is the same
m essage which the apostles proclaimed as great and good news upon leaving the U pper Room: H ear
and understand well: There is a Savior f o r you, he is C hrist the Lord, who d ie d on the cross and
whom G od ra ised fro m the dead; Jesus, born o f M ary at the inn o f Bethlehem!
T he Savior w hom we honor as Christians is a Savior w ho has experienced hum an suffering and
death, and w hom the Father called to him self in the resurrection. T he happiness o f Christm as does
not exist without the cross on which our Savior suffered. It is certainly true: for we believe that our
celebration at Christm as is not about the birth o f ju st any baby, but the birth o f a baby w ho is truly
G od and truly hum an, and has shared and sustained our w eaknesses, sufferings and sorrows. For this
reason we leave our hom es on this night and go to church. We are looking for our Savior, we are
seeking our God!
And we are not the only ones w ho are seeking him. Everyone, even if they are not aware o f it, is
seeking him: those w ho search for truth are seeking him; those w ho hunger for happiness are seeking
him; those w ho are deprived o f love are seeking him; those w ho are hom eless or without a country
are seeking him; the good and the bad are seeking him, believers and atheists alike. All w ho carry in
their hearts any kind o f restlessness are seeking him. As long as we breathe, we seek him. If we

have eyes that are open, we are seeking him . A s far as we are able to go, we seek him. T o the extent
o f our ability to think, we are seeking him. All men and w om en are seeking him!
But not all find him . A s the angels said: T his will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped
in sw addling clothes and lying in a m anger. (Lk 2, 12) - You w ill fin d only a sm all, p o o r baby,
w rapped with care like a ll babies, but lying in a manger!
All people seek the G od w ho saves, the Savior and Lord o f all life. But only those will find him w ho
are prepared to look for him where he m ay be found: for instance, in a new born baby, with ordinary
parents, in a stable. N o doubt, even the shepherds were disappointed at first w hen, after their long
journey through the fields, they found only M ary, Joseph and the baby, and no one else. Even so,
Scripture says: T h e shepherds returned, glorifying and praising G od for all that they had seen and
heard {Lk 2, 20). G roping along in fa ith , the shepherds began to believe that our g rea t G od, whom
even the heavens cannot contain, cam e am ong them in the person o f a p o o r baby!
W e too, w hen we go to church again on Christm as seeking the G od o f our life, will be able to find
him only if we look for him where he may be found: He can be found in the poor stable o f his
church, in the sagging house o f a divided Christianity; in his church, which is a church o f sinners and
thus often m akes little progress in restructuring its stable. G od can be found in the poor appearance
o f bread and w ine. T h e child in the m anger and the Lord o f the cross both share the lot o f the poor
and despised. O u r Savior extends his arm s tow ards all w ho are without hope, w ho are bitter and
unloved. O u r Lord extends his hands tow ard the wars o f our w orld, towards the offices of the
pow erful, the em ptiness o f the well-nourished, the desperation o f hum anity - tow ards our coldness,
our world, o ur church, our time!
Therefore, m y Christm as wish for all o f us is that we m ight accept, as the shepherds did, the poor
sign and recognize God in the stable, God in our small, sinful, defective and often pedantic church,
G od w ho suffered and died on the cross, G od w ho lives alongside us, G od in the appearance o f bread
and wine. 1 w ish for us all to recognize the love o f G od w ho m ade him self so small that the poorest
shepherd, the youngest baby, the w orst sinner and sw indler could entrust them selves to him , hearing
and believing that wonderful message: D o not be afraid, for behold, 1 proclaim to you good news of
great jo y that will be for all people {Lk 2, 10) - Today, in the city o f D a vid a Savior has been born
f o r you, who is M essiah an d Lord. W hoever has ears w ill hear; w hoever has eyes w ill be am azed;
w hoever has a h eart w ill rejoice!
I wish all o f you, also in the nam e o f all the friars o f our General Curia com m unity at San M arcello,
a Merry Christm as and a Happy New Year!
Bengaluru (India), 30 N o vem ber 2014,
First Sunday o f A dvent, O pening o f the Y ear o f Consecrated Life
Prot. 400/2014