When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the angels sang: “Glory to God on high, and peace to all on earth.” What is the glory of God that this helpless infant in the poverty and misery of a cowshed reveals?

It is the glory that shines through this magical event of God of heaven and earth choosing to be born as a human being in order to save humankind from sin, suffering and every form of evil.

It is the sense of relief, of interior freedom and unspeakable joy that springs from being drawn into intimacy with the divine, and savouring inwardly the goodness, the tenderness and the compassion of God.

It is the profound feeling of being liberated from every kind of bondage, healed of every wound, and every kind of brokenness.

It is the transformation that comes when we die to our own ego and learn to live wholly for God and for others.

That kind of transformation is truly the glory of God and it results in universal fraternity and peace, “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; where knowledge is free; and where the world is not broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.”  That is what Christmas is all about. That is the true message of Christmas. That is what Christ came to establish on earth.

Therefore, if Christmas should truly be Christmas, then, we need to look beyond crass commercialism, garish externalism, empty ritualism, unfeeling legalism and rigid dogmatism, in favour of letting our hearts be touched by the pure love, unalloyed joy, unfeigned innocence, immense tenderness, abundant warmth and profound peace that the little Child in Bethlehem exudes. Then, indeed, this broken, wounded, bleeding world of ours will be a haven of peace, freedom, truth, justice, equality and fraternity. Then indeed Christmas will be truly Christmas and Christmas will be forever.

This is very much needed today, when, religion is being maliciously, masterfully and menacingly manipulated to create divisions and spread hatred, leading to violence, lynching, dehumanisation and destruction.

Therefore, at this Christmas, my prayer is that Christ is born again in every heart and every home, so that the peace, joy and love that Christmas brings permeates every soul and pervades all life, each and every moment of the New Year.

— Most Rev. Dr. Francis Serrao SJ, Bishop of Mysuru