Christ is the light of the people who, from Christians and their families, wants to fill the world and the families of the world with love. This is how the meaning of Christmas can be seen in our time.

The light of Christmas means that God has willed to share our history, our world and our life, so that all that is ours may be introduced into the life of God himself. The light of Christ is the grace that gives us true life and makes it "visibly" known to us. Meditating on the Incarnation of the Word, St. John will say: "What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you"-attention now-"so that you also may be in communion with us" (1 Jn. 1:3). He could have said: so that we may form one family, the family of God.

It was painted with care and detail by a Dutch artist of the Flemish school, Geertgen tot Sint Jans, at the beginning of the Renaissance, in his painting "Birth of Christ" (c. 1490, National Gallery, London).
The source of the light is the Child himself from the manger. The light floods the face of the mother who contemplates him at her feet, in an adoring attitude. It also illuminates the group of angels praying at the newborn's bedside. St. Joseph, the ox and the mule, remain in the background, suggested in the half-light, their gaze fixed on Jesus. In the distance, another angel announces to the shepherds the news of the Holy Night, whose light surpasses that of the small fire in which they were warming themselves.

In his Christmas message, the Pope explained that the new family of God - the Church - "began its journey in the poor grotto of Bethlehem, and through the centuries it has become a People and source of light for humanity". And he added: "Today too, through those who go to meeting of the Child Jesus, God continues to light fires in the night of the world, to call people to recognize in him the 'sign' of his saving and liberating presence, extending the 'we' of believers in Christ to all humanity". Like Mary, the Church offers Jesus to the world, without fear. "She does not keep him to herself."

To this purpose it is worth recalling the degree scroll that the Second Vatican Council wanted to give to the Constitution on the Church: "Light of the Gentiles". And the text begins precisely: "Because Christ is the light of the nations...". The Church reflects the light of Christ. And He wants to fill everything with His light, which is the love of God, to the world; and He does it through this family of God that is Christians; also, and particularly, from their families.

That is why Christians, and people of good will, "make family", celebrate the family, defend the family. And this, in the silence of ordinary days, and, when appropriate, also in the street and in public life, because the family is the seed and the school of society. First and foremost, we strive to place God at the center of our families. As a consequence, our homes should be open to other families and to those who have no family.

We Christians transmit the faith within the family and from it, with concrete details of prayer, with the life of the sacraments, with service to others. We present the family as the seed and model of society, especially in these times of crisis, and we try to help those who need it, so that everyone can go forward with confidence in God. "How important it is, then, that every child who comes into the world be welcomed in the warmth of a family!.... This is what children need: the love of a father and a mother" (Angelus, December 26, 2010).

Especially during the Christmas season, we can unite our prayer to that of the Pope: "Let us pray to him: Lord Jesus, you who willed to be born as the first of many brothers, give us true brotherhood. Help us to be like you. Help us to recognize your face in the other who needs me, in those who suffer or are helpless, in all men, and to live together with you as brothers and sisters, so that we may become one family, your family" (Homily on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2010).