JESUS IS BORN FOR A HUMANITY SEARCHING FOR FREEDOM AND PEACE

VATICAN CITY, DEC 25, 2002 (VIS) - John Paul II celebrated midnight mass in the Vatican Basilica for the solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord.

In the homily, the Pope said that "Jesus is born for a humanity searching for freedom and peace; he is born for everyone burdened by sin, in need of salvation, and yearning for hope. On this night God answers the ceaseless cry of the peoples: 'Come, Lord, save us!' His eternal Word of love has taken on our mortal flesh."

He continued "The Word has entered into time: Emmanuel. God-with-us, is born. In cathedrals and great Basilicas, as well as in the smallest and remotest churches throughout the world, Christians joyfully lift up their song: 'Today is born our Saviour'."

The Holy Father went on, "This is the icon of Christmas: a tiny newborn child, whom the hands of a woman wrap in poor cloths and lay in a manger. Who could imagine that this little human being is the 'Son of the Most High'? Only she, his Mother, knows the truth and guards its mystery. (...) We too - the men and women of the third millennium - are able to encounter Christ and to gaze upon him through the eyes of Mary. Christmas night thus becomes a school of faith and of life."

The Pope emphasized that "The Child laid in a lowly manger: this is God's sign. (...) It is a sign of hope for the whole human family; a sign of peace for those suffering from conflicts of every kind; a sign of freedom for the poor and oppressed; a sign of mercy for those caught up in the vicious circle of sin; a sign of love and consolation for those who feel lonely and abandoned." He concluded, "A small and fragile sign, a humble and quiet sign, but one filled with the power of God who out of love became man."

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