Christmas Vigil Mass at St Joseph’s Chaldean Catholic Cathedral
On December 24, 2022, H. G Archbishop Bashar Warda headed the Christmas Vigil Mass at St Joseph’s Chaldean Cathedral along with the deacons and the main choir, in the presence of civil officials and more than 1500 people of the faithful laity.
The Divine Liturgy celebration started with a procession of the laity representing the shepherds, after which H. G Archbishop Bashar ignited the Christmas flame which refers to the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. In his sermon, H. G Archbishop Warda highlighted the importance of family and raising of children, he also emphasized helping the poor in all possible ways, to draw a smile on the faces of all the faithful this Christmas, especially as all parishes of the archdiocese have dedicated this month’s offerings for Al Rahma Chaldean charity to help those in need.
Archbishop Bashar Warda’s Christmas Vigil Sermon:
“They had no place in the house” (Luke 1:7)
St. Luke the Evangelist tells us the events of Christmas after he heard the Good News from those who witnessed Christ’s life and were servants of the Word. Carefully, he chose every expression to tell us about He who was rejected and crucified on Calvary. Then, three days later in Jerusalem, the angels announced that Christ had risen from the dead and appeared to His disciples. The same man whose family has no place to stay at his birth had conquered death. The meaning of Christmas is unbreakably tied to celebrating the Eucharist: the Lord gathers us around Him and blesses us with His presence between us and in us. When we accept Him in our lives, He makes us holy and pure, worthy to accept the holy things that we partake of and to glorify Him as the One God. We celebrate the Eucharist to strengthen ourselves so that we may be witnesses of the love, mercy, and goodness He showed in His life on earth. His life on Earth began by sharing love, mercy, and goodness to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. Today, we reflect upon those virtues at Christ’s coming and every time we receive Him under the form of bread and wine. The world is not in peace unless there is a good will that wants peace and a decent life for all. For this reason, the Word of God was embodied it in order to teach us a way of life. It was said about him: “The way of Jesus of Nazareth” (Acts 9: 2). So, we follow Him, believing that we have life in Him.
This birth was not accidental. Rather, it is part of God’s plan of salvation. This is confirmed by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Church of Galatia, saying, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman” (4:4). In the birth of every child there is a Divine plan, and God expects man to contribute to fulfilling His will for the whole world. Therefore, Saint Luke tells us that the birth of our Lord Jesus was obtained when Augustus was Emperor, which is the announcement that the birth of the child Jesus is good news for the whole world. As the angels declared, “Do not be afraid. In the city of David, a Savior is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2: 10-11). Through this child, God will closely accompany man, walk with him on the road, listen to him, and teach him how to discern God’s plan for his life, just as he will do with His disciples on the road to Emmaus at the end of the Gospel (Luke 24: 13-35). God will always be with us, as He promised us (Matthew 28: 20) if we allow Him to enter our hearts and dwell in them as one God, to illuminate our lives with His glory, and to teach us how to choose God’s will in our lives.
St. Luke says that the conditions of the young family were forced by the decisions of Augustus Caesar, who presented himself at that time as God, the son of God, and asked the world to worship and honor him as savior. As Caesar issued orders to take a census of the entire population of the world, to collect taxes from them, for they were his slaves. His only concern was exercising his right to enslave the people. Like rulers before him, Caesar considered his seat of power as license to control his people. Not only that, but he viewed the services he provided, which were his duties, as historical achievements. In Caesar’s eyes, people should praise him for his benevolence. In light of this, the Child of the cave is born today, and the angels praise him as the true Savior because he did not come to intimidate and command us but rather to serve, heal, have mercy, feed, and bring jubilation to hearts. Under broken bread, He offers us His Body for strength. In the humble form of child, he breaks the rod of our taskmasters.
Our Mother Mary received the baby Jesus and kissed him with joy and swaddled Him with the fabrics that she prepared for Him. Those simple clothes gave Him warmth unlike men and women who did not have the time and space to accept Him just as they do not have the time and space to accept others. Because of self-centeredness they do not have time for God Himself. How strange is this person! He turns to God only in times of distress and does not remember Him except in times of need. Whoever does not allocate time and place for God will not have a place and time for the neighbor and he will not experience the presence of God in his life. When Christ comes to him as a child in need of love and tenderness God says: “I created the world and made it good, and you are able to make the world well. I created you in my image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27), and I need you to keep this world well.” How can this man of hardened heart respond? Learn what is essential in life: to be merciful as I am.
St. Luke continues his story by saying that Mary “lay the child in a manger,” meaning that he was born in a stable for animals because they had no place in the house. The manger is a place where they put food for the animals so by Mary’s action God tells us, this is the real food that you need. O man, bow down to accept Him and embrace the Bread of the Angels with love just as He bowed today towards all of us to gather for God a family. He gathers loving brothers and sisters, who do not fight among themselves to prove to God who fears Him the most, or who loves Him more sincerely, and do not compete to be the most important and the strongest, as happened with Cain and Abel but rather, a family that knows how to thank God for every blessing, and sees in the face of every person the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1: 26-27).
Let us pray
Our God and King, we always glorify You as the only God in our lives, so come and renew us with the joy that You want for us, not the pleasure with which the world changes us. Your joy comforts us, and the pleasure of the world makes us tired.
Enlighten our minds so that we know that the celebration of Christmas is extending the hand of peace and reconciliation to all, so we throw away the stories of the past that still torment us and burden our lives, so that we may receive the healing light of Jesus.
Teach us that joy is in meeting the family, brothers and sisters reconciling and loving each other, and refusing to be separated by money, wealth, position or prestige. Strengthen us, O Lord, to do what is good in Your sight, for You created us according to Your example, good, and You know that we are capable of being merciful and loving.
Make us ready for the need of the poor and needy, so that we hasten to their relief, bring the joy of Christmas into their lives, and bless them with the blessings that You have blessed us with, so help us to find a place for them in our hearts, and give them with love and generosity.
We thank you, Lord, because you chose to be born today among us, to accompany us with your mercy, to fill our lives with joy and peace, so help us to make room wide before you, so that we may receive you, know you, and serve you among your brothers, so that we may receive you and hear: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Matt 25: 34 – 36)
