For a child is born to us, a son is given to us (Isaiah 9:5)
As we embrace the joyous season of Christmas, we are invited to journey to the humble manger in Bethlehem, where God’s boundless love is revealed in the tender cry of the Christ child. O Silent Night! O Holy Night! When Emmanuel – God with us – entered our human story, bringing a radiant message of hope, peace, and redemption.
The birth of Jesus speaks to us of simplicity, humility, and profound peace. It calls us to embody lives of compassion, selflessness, and service. Guided by these values, the Society of Jesus continues to inspire people to become men and women for and with others, particularly those most in need.
The year 2024 has been a tapestry of challenges and triumphs – natural disasters, conflicts, and political strife, yet also moments of hope, solidarity, and joy. In a world fractured by division and uncertainty, the message of Christmas shines as a beacon, urging us to be instruments of light, bringing God’s love and grace into our families, communities, and beyond.
This Christmas, let us hold close in our hearts those who are struggling – the homeless, the lonely, the sick, and those yearning for healing and reconciliation. May the joy of Christ’s birth inspire us to work tirelessly toward a world rooted in justice, dignity, and compassion for all.
On behalf of the General Curia of the Society of Jesus, we extend our warmest wishes for a Christmas filled with blessings and joy. May the peace of Christ dwell richly in your hearts and homes. Merry Christmas!
Photo: Katalin Tremmel Hudik, Budapest, Hungary | 100 Cribs at the Vatican, 2024.
In the bleak mid-winter
In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
Our God, heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain,
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty —
Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom Angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
Angels and Archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But only His Mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am? —
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part, —
Yet what I can I give Him, —
Give my heart.
Christina Rossetti
Related Posts:
The Holy Father’s intention for the month of May, “That everyone might have food,, focuses on the most urgent challenges of our time: hunger and wasted food.
More than 22 million people in over 90 countries pray each month around the same intention – the one the Pope puts forward. They don’t belong to the same organization or follow the same program, but are united across vastly different contexts – parishes, shrines, prayer groups...
Lord Jesus, on this glorious morning,
When you rose from the dead,
May our hearts be filled with gratitude and awe
For the love You showed us on the cross.
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (PWPN), a global spiritual community uniting Christians around the Pope’s monthly prayer intentions, has unveiled its redesigned website at popesprayer.va.
Advent is a time of waiting, a sacred season in which the Church prepares to celebrate the birth of the Saviour and to welcome once again the light of Christ into our world. It is a time of hope, and in a world often marked by uncertainty and anxiety, Advent reminds us that hope...
In the evening of 19 October, the participants at the Meeting of Major Superiors gathered as pilgrims in a spiritual moment woven into the program of the 10-day meeting. These men, entrusted with the care of Provinces and Regions within the Society of Jesus...
