Christmas 2025: Embracing the Light of Christ
“Though He was in the form of God, Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped at, rather He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” Philippians 2:6-7.
Powerful rulers brought chaos and darkness to the earth. The times were very uncertain. Human life seemed of little value. The Holy Family had arrived in a place where they were not wanted and there was no place for the child to be born. King Herod, the local ruler at the time, was an arrogant, narcissistic man, who seemed to change his mind at every turn. He was so unstable, everyone feared him. Herod was so paranoid, that shortly after the birth of the child, Joseph and Mary had to flee their native country as refugees, afraid that the child would be put to death. At the time of the child’s birth, the country was inhabited by a foreign power. The Roman Emperor, living so far away, ordered a census that made the family homeless and sent them off on a journey that was beyond their control.
Despite the darkness that prevailed at that, a light had been spotted in the sky months before. The light was a great star that seemed to be announcing a message of hope. The light attracted the attention of people from far away who were curious about what it might announce to a world overtaken by darkness. Three Magi from the East, like many others, were drawn to where the star was leading them. The star led them to a strange place. It did not lead to a palace, as one would suspect. They actually stopped first at Herod’s palace and found that this was not where they were to be. It turned out that the star led them to a small town named Bethlehem, where they found lying in a manger, one whom they recognized as the Savior of the world. Others, poor shepherds, had also been led to that place by an angel announcing tidings of great joy — news that the Savior of the World had been born.
Those who went to the manger found that the Son of God had been born as a human baby — that the Word had become flesh. God had taken on a body to save humanity. In the Incarnation God’s love and mercy were revealed to the fullest. The birth of Jesus, his taking on a body, made God’s love manifest. In Latin, the word for body is “corpus,” and from that word come many of the words in the Christian vocabulary. The “Body of Christ,” is called “Corpus Christi,” and works of charity that are done in the body are often referred to as “corporal works of mercy.” In the history of humanity, the greatest corporal work of mercy that has ever been done was the Incarnation of Christ through which God’s love for all people has been made manifest.
This act of God’s love, the birth of Jesus, spoken in the darkness of that night on Christmas Day in Bethlehem, two thousand years ago, was intended to change all of history. From this expression of God’s unconditional love for all people, all of humanity was intended to learn how to love one another as God had loved us. In order that we might understand the meaning of His birth, Jesus spent the rest of His life revealing the love of the Father for all humanity. He called His disciples to share in His mission, and to experience His love, so that they might share it with others. He restored many who were sick, alone, hungry and isolated to the dignity that belongs to humanity, so that we might understand how we are to live, love and forgive others. So that we might know of His love today, before dying on a cross to save humanity from sin, Jesus Himself instituted the Eucharist so that He might be present to people in every age and place. Thus, the child who once came into the darkness and ordinary situation of Bethlehem, now comes to you and I today in the gift of His Body and Blood. He does this so that today you and I might be His Body, His presence in the world. Christ, the light of the world, comes to us in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood so that we might be His Body, the Church, active in the world, speaking His love to our brothers and sisters in need.
One of the ancient theological descriptions for the Church, going all the way back to St. Paul, is the Body of Christ. The baby Jesus came into the world to reveal the love of God for all people. In order that this love may be announced to all people, He formed around Him a group of disciples, who after His resurrection, received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and were sent out into the world to continue His work of bringing God’s love to all people and places. Through baptism and confirmation, you and I are made members of the Church—Christ’s Body on earth—and are called to continue His work today. The best version of this story is told by the Evangelist St. Luke in his two-part work known as Luke-Acts. In the Gospel of Luke, we are told the story of Christ’s life and how He reveals God’s love and plan for our salvation. After His death and Ascension into Heaven, the story of God’s plan for the salvation of all people continues in the Acts of the Apostles as the Church continues that mission. What is central to the work of the Church in continuing Christ’s mission is the gift of the Eucharist which Jesus left the Church that He might always be present to His disciples and in His Church.
In the Eucharist, you and I receive the gift of Christ’s coming to us in His Body and Blood. Just as we celebrate today His birth in Jerusalem, so each time we celebrate Mass, the same Christ comes to us to show us His love. In the Body and Blood of Christ, we experience today the same supreme corporal work of mercy that God showed humanity at the birth of His Son. In the Eucharist the light of Christ’s love comes to each of us today. As we welcome Christ into our hearts in the Eucharist, we are also called to allow His love to shine out from our bodies by our own acts of love and Christian charity. Spending time before the Lord in Adoration and receiving the gift of the Eucharist reverently, and with devotion, at Mass are ways in which we can deepen in our awareness and response to God’s love for us. Perhaps this is a good time for a reminder that Eucharistic adoration takes place here at St. Peter’s Church every morning, Monday to Friday, after the 8:00 am Mass for an hour until 9:30 am. Christ gives us His Body in the gift of the Eucharist so that our own bodies may be conformed to His. As Christ gives Himself to us in the Eucharist—the supreme corporal work of mercy—we are called as disciples to continue His work by the corporal works of mercy that we do in His name in the world today.
In the dark and difficult world of His day, Christ was the light that shone in the darkness. Today, He continues to shine in the darkness through His Church, whose members are called to be the light of the world. In order for Christ’s light to shine out in us, the baptized, we must know His love and His light. This is made present to us weekly in the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist, where we are called to hear His Word proclaimed and to receive His Body and Blood. As we receive His light from His Word and Sacrament, we are to bring His light into the world. Christians are given a candle at baptism to symbolize this call to be Christ’s light in the world. To speak about how we are to do this, the Church has often spoken about the corporal works of mercy. These are: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, and burying the dead.
Many people speak about their fear and uncertainty in the world today. As in the time of Jesus, they find the world a cruel and dark place. For many people, the times have left them feeling powerless and in a state of despair. They ask how they are to live and what they are to do in such dark and uncertain times.
For the Christian, there is only one thing to do in such times. The Christian must embrace the light of Christ and say no to the darkness.
As we welcome Christ joyfully on Christmas Day, we can welcome Him each and every day in the celebration of the Eucharist as we hear His Word proclaimed and receive His Body and Blood. By participating in Christ’s supreme corporal act of mercy at the Eucharist, we are configured to His likeness and sent out into the world to change it through actions of love. When each one of us commits to engaging in the corporal acts of mercy in the name of Christ, we bring light and love into the world. This is the only way that each of us can truly make a difference and counteract the forces of evil at work in the world today.
When Christians feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, cloth the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and imprisoned, and bury the dead, they become a powerful force that overcomes the darkness. When we cannot do all of this on our own, we can do so by supporting initiatives that can and do—like our parish community, the Winter Welcome Table or ShareLife. For all of these efforts, we can find the strength in receiving the Eucharist and through Eucharistic adoration.
As we celebrate Christ’s first coming among us today, as a child born in a manger in Bethlehem, may we also be strengthened to recognize that He also comes to us every day, in the gift of the Eucharist, in order that we might be His disciples today and bring His light to a world in darkness through our own corporal works of mercy done in His name.
I pray that you and your families will have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed and healthy 2026.
Merry Christmas!
Fr. Michael McGourty
Pastor – St. Peter’s Church—Toronto, Ontario.
The above text is Fr. McGourty's Christmas homily.
