By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Dec 24, 2024 / 17:20 pm
Hope lives, Pope Francis said in his homily for Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican, as he reflected on the incredible fact that the infinite God became a small Child.
“God is Emmanuel, he is God-with-us,” the pope said in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24. “The infinitely great has become small; the divine light has shone through the darkness of the world; the glory of heaven has appeared on earth. And how? In the littleness of a Child. And if God comes, even when our hearts resemble a poor manger, then we can say: hope is not dead, hope is alive, and it envelops our lives forever.”
The 88-year-old Pope Francis presided over Mass during the Night for the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord after opening the Holy Door of the basilica to officially start the 2025 Jubilee Year.
With the opening of the Holy Door, the pontiff said, “each of us can enter into the mystery of this proclamation of grace.”
“This is the night when the door of hope has opened wide on the world; this is the night when God says to each one: there is hope for you too!” he said in his Christmas homily.
Francis said the Jubilee, which has the theme “pilgrims of hope,” is an opportunity for all people to have hope in the Gospel, hope in love, and hope in forgiveness.
