Christmas brings us back to that moment when God, out of his great love for humanity, chose to send his only son to save us.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. He came to live among us in humility and to share our humanity in everything except sin.
Through this same love, God invites us to believe in the one he sent so that we may receive salvation, for Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life.
At the start of this blessed month, I travelled to Lebanon to welcome Pope Leo XIV on his first pastoral visit.
His theme, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” spoke powerfully into a nation still living with deep wounds, ongoing crises, and the heavy suffering caused by conflict. In the midst of this pain, the Holy Father’s visit became a light of hope, a gentle assurance that God has not forgotten his people.
More than 40 of our young people from Australia were part of this journey with me.
At Bkerke, during the pope’s meeting with the youth, he spoke a message that moved everyone present.
He said that peace is not an idea or a document. Peace is a new life that comes from above, from Jesus Christ. This is what Christmas shows us. In Jesus, heaven comes close to earth. He gives a peace deeper than anything the world can offer.
Scripture teaches that salvation and peace cannot be separated.
Isaiah speaks of perfect peace, and Jesus names peacemakers as children of God. We know the angels’ song of “peace on earth” from the night Jesus was born.
Yet real peace feels fragile in our time. Jealousy, fear, selfishness, and anger can easily disturb it. So many people long for peace but cannot seem to find it in their world, their homes, or even in their own hearts.
Yet the child in the manger still comes with the peace of God in his hands. He does not look for perfection. He meets us in our real lives, as we are. Christmas calls us to live this peace with God, within our own hearts, and with each other.
Peace with God begins with trusting Jesus Christ, who reconciled us to the Father through his cross and resurrection. When we return to him with honest hearts, he forgives us and welcomes us as his children. Peace with God means knowing that he is Emmanuel, God who walks with us and never leaves our side.
Peace within our hearts grows when we discover that our sins are forgiven and that we are loved unconditionally by God who made us in his image and likeness.
He knows our worth and our purpose. When we see ourselves as he sees us, peace begins to soften our fears and steady our hearts.
Peace with others flows from the peace we receive from God. And it begins where life is most real, in our families.
Many homes today struggle to live in peace. Jealousy, old hurts, misunderstandings, and pride can build walls that are hard to remove.
Christmas calls us to take a brave step. Just as Jesus crossed the infinite distance between heaven and earth to reach us in a humble manger, we are invited to cross the distance between ourselves and one another.
Peace begins with a simple gesture, a word, a message, an open door. Even the smallest step honours the Child of Bethlehem and makes us peacemakers after his own heart.
A family that lives its faith does not reject its children when they think differently. It listens. It respects. It loves without condemning.
Do not wait for someone else to make the first move. Let the light of Christmas move you. “Go and be reconciled with your brother or sister,” the Lord says, “then come and offer your gift at the altar.”
Christmas is not a myth or a tradition we keep out of routine, and it is not simply a story from the past. Christmas is glory given to God in the highest and his peace poured out on the earth.
When we honour God through our prayer and our daily choices, his peace begins to change our lives and the world around us. God does not need our praise, but when we glorify Him, it becomes a path to our own good and our salvation.
As the new year approaches, let us pray for our country, Australia, and for families who are weighed down by rising costs and daily struggles. Let us also lift our hearts in prayer for peace in Lebanon, in the Holy Land, and in every place suffering from conflict and violence.
Let us hear again the words the angels spoke to the shepherds: “Do not be afraid. We bring you news of great joy. Today a Saviour has been born for you.” With one heart and voice, let us proclaim with joy this Christmas: Christ is born! Alleluia!