Take, O Lord, and receive 
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URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
CHRISTMAS 2012
“Veritas de terra orta est!” – “Truth has sprung out of the earth”
(Ps 85:12).
Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, a happy Christmas
to you and your families!
In this Year of
Faith, I express my Christmas greetings and good wishes in these words
taken from one of the Psalms: “Truth has sprung out of the earth”. Actually, in
the text of the Psalm, these words are in the future: “Kindness and truth shall
meet; / justice and peace shall kiss. / Truth shall spring out of the earth,
/and justice shall look down from heaven. / The Lord himself will give his
benefits; / our land shall yield its increase. / Justice shall walk before him,
/ and salvation, along the way of his steps” (Ps 85:11-14).
Today these prophetic words have been fulfilled! In Jesus, born in Bethlehem
of the Virgin Mary, kindness and truth do indeed meet; justice and peace have
kissed; truth has sprung out of the earth and justice has looked down from
heaven. Saint Augustine explains with admirable brevity: “What is truth? The Son
of God. What is the earth? The flesh. Ask whence Christ has been born, and you
will see that truth has sprung out of the earth … truth has been born of the
Virgin Mary” (En. in Ps. 84:13). And in a Christmas sermon he says that
“in this yearly feast we celebrate that day when the prophecy was fulfilled:
‘truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven’.
The Truth, which is in the bosom of the Father has sprung out of the earth, to
be in the womb of a mother too. The Truth which rules the whole world has sprung
out of the earth, to be held in the arms of a woman ... The Truth which heaven
cannot contain has sprung out of the earth, to be laid in a manger. For whose
benefit did so lofty a God become so lowly? Certainly not for his own, but for
our great benefit, if we believe” (Sermones, 185, 1).
“If we believe”. Here we see the power of faith! God has done everything; he
has done the impossible: he was made flesh. His all-powerful love has
accomplished something which surpasses all human understanding: the Infinite has
become a child, has entered the human family. And yet, this same God cannot
enter my heart unless I open the door to him. Porta fidei! The door of
faith! We could be frightened by this, our inverse omnipotence. This human
ability to be closed to God can make us fearful. But see the reality which
chases away this gloomy thought, the hope that conquers fear: truth has
sprung up! God is born! “The earth has yielded its fruits” (Ps
67:7). Yes, there is a good earth, a healthy earth, an earth freed of all
selfishness and all lack of openness. In this world there is a good soil which
God has prepared, that he might come to dwell among us. A dwelling place for his
presence in the world. This good earth exists, and today too, in 2012, from this
earth truth has sprung up! Consequently, there is hope in the world, a hope in
which we can trust, even at the most difficult times and in the most difficult
situations. Truth has sprung up, bringing kindness, justice and peace.
Yes, may peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided
by a conflict which does not spare even the defenceless and reaps innocent
victims. Once again I appeal for an end to the bloodshed, easier access for the
relief of refugees and the displaced, and dialogue in the pursuit of a political
solution to the conflict.
May peace spring up in the Land where the Redeemer was born, and may he grant
Israelis and Palestinians courage to end to long years of conflict and division,
and to embark resolutely on the path of negotiation.
In the countries of North Africa, which are experiencing a major transition
in pursuit of a new future – and especially the beloved land of Egypt, blessed
by the childhood of Jesus – may citizens work together to build societies
founded on justice and respect for the freedom and dignity of every person.
May peace spring up on the vast continent of Asia. May the Child Jesus look
graciously on the many peoples who dwell in those lands and, in a special way,
upon all those who believe in him. May the King of Peace turn his gaze to the
new leaders of the People’s Republic of China for the high task which awaits
them. I express my hope that, in fulfilling this task, they will esteem the
contribution of the religions, in respect for each, in such a way that they can
help to build a fraternal society for the benefit of that noble People and of
the whole world.
May the Birth of Christ favour the return of peace in Mali and that of
concord in Nigeria, where savage acts of terrorism continue to reap victims,
particularly among Christians. May the Redeemer bring help and comfort to the
refugees from the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and grant peace to
Kenya, where brutal attacks have struck the civilian population and places of
worship.
May the Child Jesus bless the great numbers of the faithful who celebrate him
in Latin America. May he increase their human and Christian virtues, sustain all
those forced to leave behind their families and their land, and confirm
government leaders in their commitment to development and fighting crime.
Dear brothers and sisters! Kindness and truth, justice and peace have met;
they have become incarnate in the child born of Mary in Bethlehem. That
child is the Son of God; he is God appearing in history. His birth is a
flowering of new life for all humanity. May every land become a good earth which
receives and brings forth kindness and truth, justice and peace. Happy Christmas
to all of you!
|
The Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph are the Holy Family. The Roman Catholic Church, celebrates the liturgical feast of the Holy Family in honor of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his foster father, Saint Joseph, as a family. 
Matthew 2:13-23| 11, Jalan Gereja |
| Kajang |
| Selangor Darul Ehsan |
| 43000 |
| Malaysia |
| 6, Chapel Road, Singapore 429509 |
| Tel : +6502 6344 0046 Fax : +6502 6348 0552 |
| Website : http://holyfamily.org.sg/ |
| 2 | For the Lord honored the father above the children, and he confirmed the right of the mother over her sons. |
| 3 | Whoever honors his father atones for sins, |
| 4 | and whoever glorifies his mother is like one who lays up treasure. |
| 5 | Whoever honors his father will be gladdened by his own children, and when he prays he will be heard. |
| 6 | Whoever glorifies his father will have long life, and whoever obeys the Lord will refresh his mother; |
| 7 | he will serve his parents as his masters. |
| 12 | O son, help your father in his old age, and do not grieve him as long as he lives; |
| 13 | even if he is lacking in understanding, show forbearance; in all your strength do not despise him. |
| 14 | For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and against your sins it will be credited to you; |
| 1 | Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! |
| 2 | You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. |
| 3 | Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. |
| 4 | Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD. |
| 5 | The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! |
| 12 | Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, |
| 13 | forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. |
| 14 | And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. |
| 15 | And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. |
| 16 | Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. |
| 17 | And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. |
| 18 | Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. |
| 19 | Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. |
| 20 | Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. |
| 21 | Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. |
| 22 | And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord |
| 23 | (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") |
| 24 | and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." |
| 25 | Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. |
| 26 | And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. |
| 27 | And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, |
| 28 | he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, |
| 29 | "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; |
| 30 | for mine eyes have seen thy salvation |
| 31 | which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, |
| 32 | a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel." |
| 33 | And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; |
| 34 | and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against |
| 35 | (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." |
| 36 | And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phan'u-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, |
| 37 | and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. |
| 38 | And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. |
| 39 | And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. |
| 40 | And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. |
