Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, faithful Armenian Catholic people of Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Eastern Europe. The light of the Christmas star of our Lord Jesus Christ shines with a unique warmth this year: the warmth of Hope. “Hope that never disappoints, because the love of God has been spread out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us,” as St. Paul conveys in his letter to the Romans (Rom. 5:5).

The coming year of grace, the beginning of which is announced by the feast of Christmas, marks a Jubilee year. On Christmas Eve, in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, His Holiness Pope Francis will officially launch the Jubilee Year of Christian Hope. During this period the entire Catholic Church, with its diverse liturgical traditions and cultural characteristics, is invited to renew the theological virtue of hope, based on the infinite love of God the Father for all his children. During the era of the New Testament, the Birth of the Child Jesus stands as one of the highest manifestations of the all-merciful divine humanism, emerging in the darkness of a sinful world as the ultimate source of hope for all humanity. The Incarnation of the Son of God is the reason for the only true and unfailing Hope for humanity. God is with us, Emmanuel. The first Rock of the Church, the Apostle Peter, writes: “Always be ready to respond to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15).

This is the vital sign of our times that must be understood deeply. In his epistle proclaiming the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis states: “We are called to discover hope in the signs of the times that the Lord gives us. As the Second Vatican Council observed: “In every era the Church has the responsibility to read the signs of the times and to interpret them in the light of the Gospel. Thus, in a language adapted to each generation, she can respond to people’s persistent questions about the meaning of life now and the meaning of life to come, and how one relates to the other.” We must recognize the immense goodness present in the world, so as not to be tempted to think that evil and violence dominate us. The signs of the times, which include the longing of human hearts for God’s saving presence, must become signs of hope” (Spesnon confundit, 7).

The humanity of the Son of God opens the door to new hope for us, in the difficult reality in which the world lives today, and from which our Armenian society is not exempt. The upcoming Jubilee Year of Hope invites us, amidst the consequences of the Artsakh war, the irreparable pain of the loss of our beloved Armenians, the worrying phenomena of poverty and moral decline, and the various problems we face, to rediscover with the warm and tender love coming from the manger of Jesus the glimmers of Hope emanating from God’s love, which can ignite the hopeful hearts of many of us and turn our gazes to new and brighter perspectives, new opportunities, which the star shining with the warmth of the newborn Child opens before us with its light in the night sky.

Let us imagine the cave where the Baby Jesus was born. This cave closely mirrored the disconcerting state of our modern world, especially highlighting the current Armenian situation and the challenges present in our own lives, our families, and the Church. In the spirit of brotherly love, I urge each of you to shift your attention away from the cave’s bleakness and despair and instead embrace the miraculous newborn child surrounded by the animals. This child, born amid these creatures, discovers warmth amidst the winter chill through the affection of his parents. It is through his humble presence that the cruel and seemingly meaningless environment is transformed into a welcoming and comforting space.

Let us feel with our hearts that this Miracle Child is in our hearts, and we are His manger, His cave.

What do you feel?

What thoughts are running through your mind?

What can the Child Jesus, the King of Peace, the Prince and the Provider of Hope, bring with Him: what else if not a superhuman peace that is not of this world, as He told Pilate, what else if not an unmistakable Hope that arises even where there is no hope, as it arose in the heart of Abraham, a Hope that always leads to victory and peace, a Hope that brings with it infinite faith and confidence in God’s mercy and in our future.

It is also vital to realize that this Miracle Child is in our family, in our Church, in our society, and our family, our Church, human society is His manger and His cave. Despite the gloom and despondency that surrounds our life, family, Church and society, if we welcome the Miracle Child into our society with warm longing and expectation, with the hospitality that is characteristic of the Armenian people, then any reality will be transformed into a warm manger, where the Ruler of Peace and Hope is meekly sheltered.

Let us, then, elicit from our hearts every kind of sin and indifference, every kind of idolatry and selfishness, every kind of lust and coldness, and let us open our hearts wide, as the apostle preaching in the darkness of the heathen calls us to do (2 Cor. 6:13), let us open our exhausted mangers before the newborn King, so that he may enter and plant the sprouts of his ever-growing Hope. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).

Jesus is born, blessed be the birth of Christ!

23.12.2024

Gyumri, Ordinariate of Catholic Armenians

†Most Rev. GEORGE ARCHBISHOP NORADOUNKIAN

Titular Archbishop of Sebastia,

Ordinary of the Armenian Catholics of Armenia, Georgia, Russia

and Eastern Europe