Brothers and sisters

May the Lord give you peace!

In today’s liturgy, the last day of the year, the Church invites us to celebrate the Holy Family of Nazareth. And as I often like to remember: for us Christians, celebrating is not just remembering, but having “presence”. And in remembering Him, the “Lord Jesus”, He makes himself present. And he is present in a family. Jesus is born and welcomed into a family made up of a man and a woman, a father and a mother who love each other. And they are called the “holy family”. And why is it holy family? Because Jesus is at the center! There is the desire to do God’s will and to direct one’s whole life towards Him. Brothers and sisters… every family that puts Jesus at the center is sanctified, because He is holy. Yes, all families, even our men and women religious.

And in the Gospel of this solemnity of the Holy Family, Saint Luke recounts the Gospel of the presentation of Jesus in the temple with the circumcision of the baby Jesus. However, attention is paid to the name given to the baby. That name that could never be pronounced before the coming of Jesus. “Now we can name God because he allowed himself to be conceived and he gave himself to us. That which was man’s greatest desire, now finds fulfillment.” For Jewish culture, the reality of the name is fundamental to existence. “Calling a person by name means that they exist for me and I for them: it is existing for each other, entering into communion”. And the name of God for man can only be Jesus, that is, “God saves”.

And in the name of God we all meet… Pope Francis insists on this. “everyone”. Salvation is for everyone. The Church is for everyone… and at the conclusion of this we also want to ask forgiveness for the times we have despised or mistreated someone because of their race, their human or social condition. Because it is the Gospel that guides our lives, our actions, but above all our choices as this new year begins.

Brothers and sisters, the gospel is the basis of our examination of conscience for the year we are about to end and the goal of the new year we are about to begin. At his birth Jesus was welcomed by the shepherds. Who were the shepherds? Humble men, and excluded men; in the Temple of Jerusalem he is welcomed by two elders: Simeon and Anna. A meeting therefore takes place in the Temple between “different generations”, between young and old. It is the wonder of the meeting between generations, of the exchange of experiences, of perspectives, of life. Exchange today is so threatened by the throwaway culture of our times. What are the elderly for? Most of the time they are not listened to…. How beautiful are those families where love and respect flow between different generations. Grandparents, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, children, grandchildren.

And we want to conclude this year by singing and praising God… saying with all our strength: “My strength and my song is Jesus”. And let us repeat it throughout the year, forever. And He is our God, made small, “Emanuel”, the child God tells each of us: “I love you, I forgive you, I respect you, you are important to me”. How beautiful it is to end this year 2023 hearing these words of Jesus to each one of us. I conclude by asking and by giving, forgive. And start the new year 2024 full of joy, hope and charity…. Here in Cyprus as a beautiful family, the Catholic Church of Cyprus: Latins and Maronites… who walk together, in the name of Christ… Amen!