The Children’s Christmas Sermon

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The year began, Easter came and went, and before we knew it, summer passed too!
We started the holidays, and how quickly they flew by!
Then school began, Advent arrived, and here we are again.

Doesn’t it feel like every year rushes by like a fast-moving train?
One year ends, and another begins—it can feel like everything is just repeating itself.

Isn’t that what Ecclesiastes reminds us: “Everything is futile”?

Wait a minute!
Yes, it’s true that everything passes. But Saint George Preca reminds us of something important: “Everything passes, and you pass too.” Someone came into the world and told us He came to take us with Him!

Not everything is empty repetition! Friends, for some, this Christmas night may come and go as if nothing happened. But what does this night truly mean for us gathered here?

I am Shaze, and these are Maise, Ella, and Beppe. Together, we’ll tell you what Christmas means to us!

Shaze, Beppe, Ella, and dear friends gathered in this beautifully decorated church,

Listen to what Pope Benedict XVI said about this holy night: “The coming of Christ dispels the darkness of the world, fills the holy night with the glow of light from the heavens, and spreads the light of the Father upon the faces of men.”

So this night is no longer just a night, because the Lord’s light has shone upon the whole earth!

But is this just a nice story that we enjoy hearing every year? Do we just enjoy receiving and giving gifts and everything stops there? Or else, is it an invitation to let the Lord Jesus be born in our hearts, so that our lives will be much better?

And how will our lives become better if we welcome Jesus in us?

Maise, don’t you know that you, I, and all of us were created in God’s image? To reach true happiness, we must live with this truth in our hearts and minds.

We can only achieve this if we look to Jesus every day of our lives. Christ Jesus, the Son of God made man, is the perfect image of the Father. He is true God and true man. He became like us to show us the way to God and to enable us to live forever in His love.

How beautiful is our faith, isn’t it, Shaze, Ella, and Maise? How will we respond to this great gift—Jesus, the Son of God, who came among us to love us?

We need to wake up from our sleep! This night, in which the darkness was banished, shows us that in the end, it is the light that triumphs over darkness. It is the perfect love that casts out fear.

I am not inventing this, my friends—I am quoting the Word of God!

While I was preparing, do you know what struck me? Jesus chose to come into the world not as a king or a powerful general, but as a small and weak baby—a being completely dependent on others.

Even His parents, Joseph and Mary, were poor, free from any material wealth. Their humble house in Nazareth and the cave in Bethlehem had nothing to draw you in or make you want to stay.

Jesus’ life is one lesson after another!

But what am I learning? Am I living a simple life like His?

This is the challenge—to let the example of the Child Jesus inspire us to live a more committed and humble life.

On the hills near the cave, some poor shepherds were watching over their sheep. As soon as they saw the light and heard the angels singing, they said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what has happened!” They hurried to the cave, and there they found Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus lying in a manger. They were the first to behold the long-awaited Messiah.

How I wish the world could learn a lesson from all this.
If we truly understood that love, not pride or wealth, makes us rich, how many wars would cease? How many people would embrace one another? How many families would find unity again? And how much peace would reign on earth!

This is our great hope, friends—that He will bring us His peace once more. This is how the angels sang when the Messiah was born, and this is how we pray to Jesus tonight:

Give us the peace You brought with You, Lord, the peace we so desperately need!

Pope Saint Paul VI was right to teach us that Christmas is the great and historic meeting between God and man. What a remarkable event! How can we not rejoice as we remember it?

Saint Augustine reminds us to wake up and open our eyes, for it was for our sake that God became man. He not only urged us to wake up but also encouraged us to let the joy of the Lord fill our hearts.

Therefore, let us sing and rejoice, because the Lord is no longer far away; He is with us and in us, for all who open their hearts to Him.

Once in Royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little Child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.

And through all His wondrous childhood
He would honour and obey,
Love and watch the lowly maiden,
In whose gentle arms He lay:
Christian children all must be
Mild, obedient, good as He.

“Peace on Earth to people of goodwill” (Lk 2:14).

In the name of Kenosis Foundation, we wish you a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year filled with abundant blessings.

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace and happiness.