Bethlehem, Dec 26, 2024 / 10:50 am (CNA).
The atmosphere in Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born, was more relaxed this Christmas.
The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who was the object of a protest in the town at last year’s celebration, spoke to the people from Manger Square, where a stage was set up.
“Our commitment this Christmas is to rebuild our trust and renew our hope for life here in Bethlehem and throughout Palestine,” the patriarch said.
“We believe that the light has come to us, and the light is Jesus Christ. We belong to the light, not to darkness. We may not have lights, but we are the light,” he declared.
“Take courage, don’t be afraid; we will not allow the war to erase our lives,” Pizzaballa added. The war in Gaza still casts its shadow over Bethlehem, which has suffered a severe economic crisis, with shop shutters down and several hotels closed.
Along the streets, there were some families who brought their children and asked the Patriarch for a blessing. And he did not fail to offer his greeting, a kiss, and a blessing for the young and old alike.
For its part, the municipality once again did not promote Christmas events, even though many of the local Christians would have liked a sign of celebration.
“It’s our tradition. To show our faith doesn’t mean forgetting those who suffer. We could have done something in a different way,” George, who was born and raised in Bethlehem, told CNA.
At the nearby Basilica of the Nativity, the Franciscan sacristan, Brother Anania Jacek, prepared the Christmas Eve Mass arrangements in the Grotto of the Nativity. It was there, at the end of the Christmas Eve Mass, that the patriarch placed the statue of the baby Jesus.
As the day was coming to an end, the Church of St. Catherine — the Latin part of the Basilica of the Nativity — was filled with the faithful.
At the singing of the Gloria and the ringing of the Christmas bells, the statue of the baby Jesus in front of the altar was unveiled and incensed. At the end of the Mass, the statue was incensed on the altar and then carried in procession to the Grotto of the Nativity. It was first placed on the silver star marking the spot of Jesus’ birth and then in the location traditionally identified as the manger.
“The angels’ song of glory, joy, and peace seems to be out of tune after a tiring year full of tears, bloodshed, suffering, in addition to shattered hopes and crushed plans for peace and justice,” the patriarch began in his homily.
Yet, “we are called by tonight’s angels to live in faith and hope,” he added.
“The Child of Bethlehem takes us by the hand tonight and leads us with him into history,” he continued. “He accompanies us so that we make history our own to the very end and so that we walk through it with the peace of trust and hope in him.”
And then, he said, the task for the Christians of the Holy Land is to “walk on the alternative ways that the Lord shows you. We must find adequate spaces where new styles of reconciliation and brotherhood may be born and grown. We must make our families and our communities cradles of justice and peace.”
That’s why, Pizzaballa concluded, “it is in this year, it is here that it makes even more sense to hear the song of the angels who announce the joy of Christ’s birth! That song’s voice resounds with strength through the tears of those who suffer, it encourages us to make vengeance powerless through forgiveness.”
In Bethlehem, the darkness of the night was once again pierced by the singing of the Gloria and the sound of bells announcing the coming of the Savior.
“Take courage!” the patriarch urged. “We must not lose hope. Let us renew our trust in God. He never leaves us alone. And here in Bethlehem, we celebrate the God-with-us and the place where he made himself known.”
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“The Child of Bethlehem takes us by the hand tonight and leads us with him into history”, Cdl Pizzaballa continues to display strong leadership qualities in the midst of severe strife. Probably a leading, if not the leading candidate for the next papal conclave of cardinals.
Although, the child Jesus arrived on planet Earth to inspire us, to light the flame that would grow to leaping flames. What we have now are lots of ashes with few glowing embers. We’ve reached a type of crescendo with the turn of political events in the US with expectation of return to moral sanity [Trump’s annexation threats some say are political machinations for a ‘better deal’], the first credible signs for willingness of Russia and Ukraine to negotiate an end of hostilities, a seeming close to Israel’s Gaza incursion, the neutralization of Iranian Middle East hegemony.
Then all may take an evil turn and crescendo into increased conflict with greater, dire consequences. There’s no singular political leader who has the influence to restore world order. A Metternich will not have the scope in a sea of diverse politico-religious ideologies, Russian imperial Orthodoxy, Islamic prophetic expansion, China’s Marxist Confucianism, perhaps US nouveau Manifest Destiny. A religious leader who possesses both the aptitude and the doctrine that can appeal to the innate proclivities of the human soul has that capacity.
Hope adds life to our life span. Long live peace and non-violence.