Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, The Christmas season returns to us every year, bringing with it a breath of beauty and hope. Like a star in the night, it reveals the manger to us as an oasis, where we can pause to restore our strength and prepare to continue forward in our life’s journey.

A time for family gatherings, for sharing with others, for reflection and quietude, Christmas is also a time for our souls to be open to the divine Light that gently touches our hearts. Life can be difficult - with loneliness and boredom, anger and violence, fear and illness. Yet even so, there is Jesus.

Christmas offers us a chance to pause, like a truce, during which we can take some time to visit the manger and contemplate Jesus. When we thirst, we pause to drink. When we are thirsting for meaning in our lives, we can visit the manger and rediscover the divine Source of our existence. When we thirst for love, we can visit the manger and rediscover the divine Love that calls to us.

The baby Jesus, laying in a manger under impoverished conditions, is the Son of God made man who comes to us humbly. The shepherds and the Magi come to adore him, the angels unite in song for the first Christmas carol, and peace pours into our hearts.

Families everywhere need opportunities to come to know the Holy Family. They need the light that radiates from Jesus, Mary and Joseph, reassuring them that however difficult things may be, it is worth living and loving, and having faith - not only in the family, but also in one's own family. Children also need Jesus, who reveals himself to them as a newborn baby and welcomes them with open arms.

Whether it be through the time we spend with our Bible, our openness to forgive one another, our celebrations at Mass, sharing with the poor, partaking in the joys of family and friends, may we all endeavour to celebrate Christmas as if for the first time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

+ Christian Lépine

Archbishop of Montreal