Given at Westminster Cathedral on 25th December 2024 for the Solemn Mass during the Night.
My dear friends,
Tonight this cathedral is filled with beauty. At its focal point is the crib, and looking into the crib our eyes go straight to the child, the Christ-child. With the eyes of faith, here, we see the greatness of God in a tiny baby. The birth of any child is, of course, a cause for hope. Yet here, lying in the manger, is the greatest hope of all, a hope for every human being.
It is so fitting, then, that Hope is the theme of the Holy Year of 2025, inaugurated just a few hours ago by Pope Francis in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. In this coming year, we are to see ourselves as Pilgrims of Hope, striving to deepen hope and bring it into the world.
This may seem a tough or even futile project. The world is awash with uncertainty, conflict, instability and divisions between people. Where is the hope in all of that - other than a hope that it doesn’t touch me?
But we are to be pilgrims of hope within the embrace of God, for true hope, hope that endures and is ever fruitful, is the gift of God.
The first proclamation of our faith is that God is the Creator of all life. And in giving life, God blesses that life and proclaims it to be good. God blesses every human being, every woman and man who comes into the world. And God does so not simply by a proclamation or a decree, but, most fully, by coming into our flesh. In the birth of Jesus, the presence in our flesh of the fullness of God, we are blessed in a way that is radical and irrevocable. Once given in this way, God never withdraws the blessing.
Christmas, then, is the blessing of God on us all. At Christmas, we appreciate with greater clarity the wonder that God resides with us, walks with us, dwells in our flesh and blood. God’s presence with us is stronger than every tendency to evil also within us. God’s presence in us outlives even death itself.
The birth of Jesus, proclaimed tonight in solemnity and joy, means that despite those destructive forces, we can truly believe in the innate goodness of every person. The birth of Jesus, the blessing of his presence, impels us to live and work in ways that promote the growth and flourishing of that goodness. That is our calling: to bring out the best in each other, to strive for generous service to one another and for the good of all. This is God’s blessing in action.
So, for example, today we pray and hope for a spirit of enterprise and success in business that truly serves the common good of all. We pray for a respect for human life, life blessed by God, from the first moment of conception to its natural end. Today we can also pray and hope for a successful outcome in negotiations for a truce between Israel and Hamas; for progress towards peace in Ukraine, that war is now in its third year; for a joint effort to alleviate homelessness in so many of our cities; for a welcome and integration for those who arrive here fleeing the crippling effects of violence, instability and natural disaster.
I say these things not because of some vague optimism, but because we are people blessed by God. That blessing gives us the hope that calls us to strive for all that is good. I say these things with confidence because that blessing is given so strongly in the flesh and blood of Jesus, a blessing from which no one is excluded. This blessing, then, is the fountain of our hope, a hope for this world and, moreover, a hope in heaven, our ultimate home and the fullness of all blessings.
When we look into the stable of Bethlehem, someone else also catches our eye. It is the figure of Mary, the mother. She is blessed by God in a special way. And being blessed by God she brings that blessing to us, in the person of her Son. When we look at her we come to realise that we are to be like her. We too are blessed by God and we too are to bring that blessing to others, to all. This is a great purpose in life: to be a blessing to others. And not just to those with whom we get on, whom we love. But to all, even those who at some level oppose us, or offend us, or criticise us. To these people, too, we are to bring a blessing. We are to be the workers, the artists, of blessings, renouncing bitter feelings and criticisms and expressing instead a blessing and goodwill, expressed in honesty and truth.
A fruit of Christmas, then, is for us to be agents of a culture not of cancelling but of blessing. Bitterness and conflict are no blessing; honest opinions expressed with respect and even humility can be. For that is how the blessing of God comes to us, in the humility of the birth of Jesus, who disarms us with his lowliness and defeats every evil with his unwavering goodness.
Tonight, and in the days to come, I invite you to visit the crib, to see in it the brightness of eternity touching our world. There we see our hope and our blessing. There we can come to realise more deeply how richly God has bestowed his blessing on our world; he blesses each one of us, with our hidden thoughts, our innermost yearnings and our worries. And when we leave the crib, knowing how blessed we are, may we resolve to be a blessing to others.
Be full of joy this Christmas, at the coming of this new life and true hope into our world.
Amen.
✠ Cardinal Vincent Nichols
Archbishop of Westminster