603 Dongo (Como, Italy);
December
24, 1997
The Holy Night
a Enter with me, beloved sons, into
the cave where, on this holy night, my
divine Child is born. Do not be disturbed by its squalor; do not be dismayed by its poverty; do not be
saddened by its solitude. This cave is a sweet shelter for our weariness; it is
a safe refuge for our pilgrimage; it
is a cradle chosen by the Heavenly Father for the human birth of his
only-begotten Son.
b Enter with me into the cave in silence and in an act of profound adoration. The Eternal Word of the Father
is born to his human life; He is placed in a manger; He is
glorified by the angels, adored by the
shepherds, comforted and loved by me, his Virgin Mother, and by my most
chaste spouse, Joseph.
c Understand, beloved sons, how much God has loved the world, so as
to give it his very own Son. Contemplate with astonishment the manger: the Son
of God has chosen to be born in poverty, in humility, in solitude, in pain and
in tears.
d Feel with me the intense desire to cover Him
with every kind of gratitude; warm
Him with the kiss of your priestly love; clothe Him with the white garments of your virtues; wipe away his tears with the precious linen of your immolation; adore Him together
with the shepherds, with the purity of your prayer; clasp
Him to your heart as your only and greatest treasure.
Him to your heart as your only and greatest treasure.
e Enter with me into this dark
cave, if you wish to share in the splendor of his divine dwelling.
f Enter
with me into the fullness of time. This holy night
brings time to its fullness. The time has
been ordained by God in which to prepare for the human birth of the Son. From Adam
to Noah, from Abraham to
David, from the patriarchs and the prophets, time has been marked by a long and ardent waiting for his
coming.
g On this holy night, the time of the
first Advent is fulfilled, because
a Child is born to you, Emmanuel, God-with-us. The very Son of God shares in the human fragility, which becomes
apparent in a particular way in his birth, in his growth, in his adolescence, and in his youth. He carries the
burden of all sufferings and offers Himself, as a gentle lamb, in his
cruel Sacrifice for your redemption and your salvation.
h
Humanity is redeemed; man is saved; time reaches its apex when it marks the precious moment of
universal redemption. As of this night,
a new journey begins for humanity, illuminated by
the hope and expectation of his second coming in glory.
i Enter with me into the fullness of time, which will
take place when Jesus returns in the splendor of
his divine glory. This, his first coining, will reach its full significance
only at his second coming. This holy night
is ordained to the radiant day that will have no dusk.
j My divine Child, whom you now contemplate in the manger and who cries and shivers from the
cold, will one day return in the
power of his divine glory and will bring time and history to its fullness. Time and history will reach their
completion; with his divine and
glorious presence, He will
make all things new.
k You are living out the mystery of this second Advent,
which is preparing you to receive Jesus, when
He returns to you on the clouds of heaven.
Only then will the second Advent
through which you are living reach its fulfillment.
Then time will attain its fullness.
Then will the Immaculate Heart of your heavenly Mother attain her triumph, in the definitive and glorious triumph of her Son Jesus.
l Enter
with me into the fullness of
time, and prepare yourselves to live the Great Jubilee, for which my
Pope is preparing you, which will cause the ineffable light of the Divine and Most Holy
Trinity to come down upon the world."
