Today, the Savior is born. The waiting is over, and hope is renewed.

Homily of the Father General for Christmas Vigil
Collegio del Verbo Divino – Rome

The Waiting Is Over!
“The waiting is over: the divine Child does not knock at the door;
But breaks it open with the gentle crash of a cry that is already a song of victory.”
(Saint Bernard of Clairvaux)

The fullness of time has come, and the grace of God has been revealed for the salvation of all.
It is this hope that leads us today to the grotto of Bethlehem.
Those who dwelt in a land of darkness continue to see a great light shining.
God has become human and has given himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity and to form for himself a new people.

The waiting is over.
Christmas is an encounter among intimates: within the family, within the community, in the silence of the night.
Whether in the city or in the countryside, for those who celebrate the coming of the Savior, it seems as though everything pauses in silence before the manger.
This does not mean that the world has stopped.
Those who had been waiting grow silent.
The prophet Isaiah contrasts darkness and light and insists on the joy that springs from liberation.
He announces the fall of the symbols of strength and power and even dares to dream of garments of war being thrown into the fire.
In the Gospel according to Luke, we see the hardness of a decree that reaches everyone and the coldness of those who do not welcome it.
The world continues its movement, indifferent.

But those who live by hope know how to stop, because they recognize the sign.
It is a time of peace, of righteousness, of sobriety, of justice, of mercy, and communion.
Now is the time of grace.
Salvation is for all.
In contrast to the force of human decrees and the marches of war that never cease, God reveals himself by disguising himself into a child.
His glory is manifested in light.
And who can cease the light?
It shines in the darkness, even when darkness persists and seeks to dominate history.
Like the humble shepherds keeping watch, we too may fail to notice
that God is already among us.
We may be afraid of what surrounds us, but we are called to trust in the sign: a child wrapped in swaddling clothes.
A humble and present sign that opens onto the future.
God opens paths where we still see nothing.
He reveals himself in the night and in silence.
He is Emmanuel, God with us, who walks with us into all that lies ahead.
For this reason, the manger sets us before the future.
The world is in constant transformation.
The Kingdom that has been inaugurated is still under construction, and we are called to collaborate in God’s work.
We have learned to repeat: “Our name is our mission.”
We must also learn to insert ourselves into the realities to which we are sent,
for our God became human and desires to be found in the face of humanity
and in the heart of every person.
Let us seek the Lord not only in the manger, but also in life itself.
As we pause in contemplation to recognize the mystery of grace, we are also called to make it visible, to become signs in the dark and cold nights of our time, in the lives of those who are still waiting or who have grown weary of waiting.
Christmas reminds us that God chose to enter our wounded humanity.
Our mission does not allow us to forget these wounds; rather, even wounded ourselves, we are called to bring relief to those who suffer.
Today the Saviour is born.
The waiting is over.
Hope is renewed.
Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to those whom he loves.