The Word of God (Christmas Midnight, 2025-12-25)

My dear Brethren,

On this holy night, as we gather in the stillness of midnight to celebrate the birth of our Savior, two beautiful passages from Sacred Scripture illuminate the profound mystery we contemplate: the coming of the Word of God into our world.

The first is from the Book of Wisdom:  

“While all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course, Thy almighty Word leapt down from heaven from thy royal throne.” (Wisdom 18:14–15)

The second is from Psalm 107:  

“He sent his Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Ps 107:20)

These words, inspired by the Holy Ghost, speak to us tonight with special power. They tell us not only what happened long ago in Bethlehem, but what is happening now, in this very Mass, in our hearts.

MIDNIGHT

Imagine the scene described in the Book of Wisdom: the whole world wrapped in quiet silence, night at its deepest point. Nothing stirs. Everything seems asleep. And yet, in that profound stillness, something extraordinary takes place. The almighty Word of God—the eternal Son, seated at the right hand of the Father—"leaps down” from His royal throne in heaven. He does not wait for the world to wake up or prepare itself. He comes suddenly, decisively, full of power and love.  

This is exactly what we celebrate tonight. In the silence of this midnight, in the humility of a stable, in the fragility of a newborn child, the eternal Word leaps into our history. He comes not with noise or thunder, but in quietness—so quiet that only hearts open to God can hear Him. Yet His coming changes everything. The darkness of sin, the silence of despair, the night of our wandering—all are pierced by this divine light.

REASON OF THE INCARNATION

The Psalm gives us the reason for this coming: “He sent his Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

God sees our wounds. He sees the destruction that sin has brought into our lives and into our world: broken relationships, fear, loneliness, the slavery of habits we cannot break, the shadow of death that hangs over us all. And His response is not anger or condemnation. His response is to “send His Word”.  

That Word is a person. “And the Word was God”. That Word is Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, “true God from true God” (Creed). From all eternity He was with the Father, and “through Him all things were made” (Jn 1). Yet, “in the fullness of time, the Father sent Him into the world” (Galatians 4:4)—"not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17)

“He sent His Word and healed [us]”.  

He healed the leper with a touch. He healed the blind with His voice. He healed the paralyzed by forgiving their sins. But above all, on the Cross, He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. “By His wounds we are healed” (Is. 53). The eternal Word took on our flesh so that He could take on our pain, our sin, our death—and destroy them forever.

“He sent His Word and delivered us from our destructions.”

Death no longer has the last word. Sin no longer has the final victory. The chains that bound us have been shattered. In the Resurrection of Jesus, the Word made flesh rises triumphant, and He brings us with Him into new life.

My dear Brethren, this is not a story from the past. This is God’s gift to us tonight.  

The same Word who leapt from heaven into the womb of the Virgin Mary now leaps into our midst in this Eucharist. “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” (Jn 1). In the quiet of this Mass, under the appearances of bread and wine, He comes to heal what is wounded in us and to deliver us from whatever threatens to destroy us.  

Let us open our hearts to Him. Let us welcome Him with faith and love. Let us allow His Word to dwell in us richly, to shape our thoughts, our words, our actions.  

For “the Father has sent His Son, the eternal Word, into the world so that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). He became man so that we might share in His divine life. He took on our mortality so that He might make us partakers of His immortality (Christmas Martyrology).

Tonight, in this holy night, the Word still speaks. He says to each of us: “I have come for you. I love you. I heal you. I save you.” Let us respond with joy: Come, Lord Jesus! Remain with us always.

May the Virgin Mary, who welcomed the Word into her womb in silent wonder, teach us to welcome Him tonight with the same trusting love.

And may the peace of this Christmas night—the peace brought by the Prince of Peace—fill your hearts and your homes now and forever. Amen.

fr. B. Wailliez