Dear Ladies and Brother Knights, 

According to God’s Third Commandment, a feast day is first and foremost a Holy Day. While rest is indeed an important aspect of a holy celebration, the feast is above all a call to personal sanctification and to the ennoblement of our humanity. 

According to the Bible, everything that draws near to God comes under the influence of His mercy, wisdom, omnipotence, and loving kindness, and thus becomes holy. Saint Peter the Apostle reminds us that already in the Old Testament it was written: “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15–16). This means that God Himself calls us to holiness in our thoughts and actions. In the New Testament, Saint Paul addresses Christians as “saints” in several of his letters. Although the word saint may sound unusual and archaic today and has largely disappeared from everyday language, Paul’s message remains valid: he called saints those who lived exemplary lives in accordance with the will of God. 

In one of his memorable Christmas messages, our beloved Pope Francis pointed out that “Christmas is not a mixture of sentimental kitsch and comfort, but the astonishing tenderness of God, who saves the world through the Incarnation. Let us look with faith upon the Child and His poor manger, which the angels call a ‘sign’ (Lk 2:12). It is the sign of a God who is compassion and mercy itself, and whose love is almighty. In Jesus Christ let us not expect a god fashioned in our own image, useful only for solving our problems. He is not the ‘deity of consumerism that gives everything immediately’; nor does He save us at the push of a button, but rather becomes man, draws close to us, and transforms our humanity from within.” 

Let us allow God to make us holy through Jesus Christ. He accepts every person who draws near to Him, even with their sins. According to Pope Francis, at Christmas it is not enough to encounter Jesus Christ in repentance alone; we must also pass on His love to others. Christmas, therefore, continually educates us and shapes us into upright and authentic human beings. In the scene at Bethlehem, not only are the omnipotence and eternal wisdom of the Creator reflected, but also the veiled face of that God who “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (cf. Jn 3:16), revealed in the Child of Bethlehem. 

 

Dear Dames and Knights, 

It is true that this year’s Christmas celebrations will pass, but we must remember that the Incarnate Divine Word, Jesus Christ, did not appear among us for only a single day, nor did He come as a temporary guest. He has made His dwelling among us and desires that we, with all our hearts and souls, give ourselves entirely to Him. 

Let us, therefore, clothe ourselves permanently in the spirit of the Child of Bethlehem. Let us become true heralds of the message of the Holy Christmas in the world – not only through words, but through the full radiance of our love for humanity. 

Chaplain of His Holiness the Pope 

Magisterial Chaplain of the KMFAP Order 

Dunajská Streda, Slovakia 

Anno Domini 2025, December 21