St. Peter's Basilica hosted the solemn celebration of the Nativity of the Lord. The Pope presided at the Mass, which began in the late afternoon of December 24. He was joined by faithful from Rome and other places and members of the Roman Curia.
The Pope, visibly tired, was helped in all the movements and remained seated for a large part of the celebration.
The account of the census ordered by the emperor of Rome, which led Mary and Joseph to travel the roads between Nazareth and Bethlehem, has also been the guide for the homily Pope Francis said at Christmas Eve Mass in 2023.
The Pope began by drawing a comparison between the logic of human power, which wants to know the extent of its hand, counting people, showing its greatness to the world: "The census of the whole earth, in short, manifests on the one hand the all too human plot that runs through history: that of a world that seeks power and strength, fame and glory, where everything is measured by successes and results, by figures and numbers". On the other hand, "God enters the world almost in secret," the Pope recalled, and he does so as one of us, allowing himself to be counted.
Christ "descends to our limitations; he does not avoid our frailties, but assumes them," the Pope said.
Jesus incarnate has another measure, the measure of love that makes that, in his census, "you are not a number, but a face; your name is written in his heart". The logic of the incarnation is, the Pope recalled, the logic of salvation, personal and world salvation. The logic of humility that must lead us to let Jesus take the initiative in our lives because Christ loves us, even though "it is hard for us to believe this, that God's eyes shine with love for us".
"Worship tonight"
"Tonight, brothers and sisters, is the time of worship: worship.
Adoration is the way to embrace the Incarnation. For it is in silence that Jesus, the Word of the Father, becomes flesh in our lives," stressed the Pope, who did not want to miss the opportunity to recall that this is "the wonder of Christmas: not a mixture of sappy affections and worldly comforts, but the unheard-of tenderness of God who saves the world by becoming incarnate."
History was changed by the birth of Christ, "tonight love changes history," concluded the Pope who recalled, in his homily, one of the letters of J.R.R. Tolkien who entered the Catholic Church at Christmas time 120 years ago: "I offer you the only great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament. There you will find enchantment, glory, honor, fidelity and the true way of all your loves on earth'.
After the Mass, the adoration of the Child Jesus took place, in which the Pope was accompanied by a group of children who received the pontiff's blessing.
