In 2010 Archbishop Nikola Eterovic wrote a book titled, “The Word of God,” in which he advised those giving a homily at Mass to be well prepared, relevant and in general not go over eight minutes, the average amount of time for a listener to concentrate. 

Bishop John N. Tran

On Dec. 4, speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said, “homilies must be prepared with the help of the Holy Spirit, be shorter than 10 minutes and put the spotlight on the Lord, not oneself. Preaching loses its power and starts to ramble after eight minutes.” The pilgrims applauded!  

As I prepared for Christmas and reflected on the appeals of Pope Francis and Archbishop Eterovic, a question came to mind: What was the shortest and most well-prepared Christmas homily ever given? For me, it was the one given by St. Paul in his pastoral letter to Titus. It comes to us every Christmas in the second reading in the Mass during the Night:  

“The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires 
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, 
the appearance of the glory of our great God 
and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness 
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,  eager to do what is good.” 

Those words speak of the first and second comings of Christ and describe the salvation he brings, and our Christian life lived within the context of the life of Jesus and eternity. In other words, St. Paul succinctly gives us the reason, meaning, demand and promise of the Incarnation. As such, the Incarnation is more than the birth of Jesus; it implies the entirety of Jesus’ life: birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension—all for our salvation and the salvation of the world.   

Yes, the grace of God has appeared, and been made manifest, in the person of Jesus who intervened on behalf of humanity to show us how to be fully human and to lead us into eternal glory. He comes “to seek and to save that which was lost.”  

My hope for each of us not only during Christmas but throughout the new year, is to remember that amid the joy and sadness, light and darkness of daily living that “the grace of God has appeared” in Jesus. He brings us the joy that the world cannot give, and his light shines brightly our ways out of darkness. He who was placed in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, a place that was not clean, but messy and dirty, understands the messiness of our lives; it is there that he meets us and accompanies us. His life began on a trough in difficulty and ended painfully on the cross to ransom us from sin and death and gain our salvation.  

In remembering what Jesus has done, we hope to respond accordingly by being loving, kind, merciful to others, “eager to do what is good,” to “reject godless ways” and be faithful to him “as we await the blessed hope” of eternal glory.  

Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a new year full of hope.