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1961 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Address Given by His Holiness,

Pope John XXIII, on December 21, 1961

The Birthday of The Lord, the Feast of Peace.

No matter how one seeks to tell the glories of the great

mystery and to express the fulness of grace which gladdens

every believer in Jesus Christ at this time, it is impossible to

surpass what those few words contain.

This, then, is the message of Bethlehem: the glory of God,

true peace, and the invitation to the human will to correspond

with so great a gift. Gloria in excelsis Deo; pax hominibus

bonae voluntatisA

In the course of centuries the literature of those countries

in which the light of Christ has shone has been unable to add

anything to this threefold revelation which was declared to men

at the coming of the Son of God into the world.

This is now the fourth Christmas on which We (the poor

son of the people--if We may openly express what We inwardly

consider Ourself to be- -called to the summit of the priesthood

and the government of the Church) have, by the help of God’s

grace, put all Our heart into declaring this great message of

peace.

On the previous occasions We rejoiced to set the peace of

Bethlehem before all mankind from three different points of

view. Always the peace of Christ, but as seen in the radiance of

its noblest manifestations: peace and justice, peace and unity,

peace and truth.

In this threefold radiance the most important and most

precious blessings of mankind brilliantly shine forth. As an ex-

pression of the good wishes which men at this season exchange

1. Luke 2, 14.

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/

among themselves there is nothing more suitable than this mani-

fold effulgence of the riches that the Word of God made Man

brings down to earth for the redemption and exaltation of

mankind.

You know well, dear children, how the Fathers of the Church,

both East and West, the doctors and pontiffs whose voices inter-

mingle and blend in harmony, are acknowledged to be the most

faithful interpreters of the teaching, old but ever new, of heaven’s

message.

From that chorus one voice, familiar to Us from Our youth,

rings out this year in accents of renewed fervor. It is the voice

of St. Leo the Great, the fifteenth century of whose death We

have recently celebrated in Our encyclical Aeterna Dei.

In the happy celebrations of last November it was a joy for

Us to draw the inspiration of Our words from this great doctor.

And similarly today, We delight to direct your eyes towards the

stable of Bethlehem by means of words taken from his Christmas

sermons— sermons which still preserve their lively personal
style. Listen to his words:

Generatio . . . Christi origo est populi christiani, et natalis

capitis natalis est corporis. Beloved children, what beautiful

words are these: “The birth of Christ is the birth of the

Christian people; the birthday of the Head is the birthday also

of the body.’’ And he continues:

“Even though everyone of those who are called has his own

proper place, and even though the children of the Church are

separated in time, nevertheless the whole body of the faithful,

born of the waters of Baptism ... is given life with Christ in

this Nativity . . . And so the greatness of the gift which is be-

stowed on us requires of us a reverence befitting its splendor . .

.

What is more in keeping with the dignity of today’s feast than

peace, which at the Lord’s birth was for the first time proclaimed

by the choir of angels? It is peace that gives life to the sons of

God, it is the nurse of goodness and the mother of unity . . . The

birthday of Our Lord is the birthday of peace, for, as the Apostle

says: ‘He himself is our peace.’
”2

The peace of wise and upright men- -to paraphrase St.

Leo’s thought, which comes from above and raises up on high--

is not to be confused with the easy-going indulgence of lovers of

this world. It stands out against every obstacle and spurs men

2. Eph. 2, 14.

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away from dangerous pleasures to where true joys are to be

found. May we, united in a single will and a single conviction,

at one in faith and hope and love be led thither by the Spirit of

Peace.

^

These are the sublime words of St. Leo, and they speak

clearly on points of doctrine and of practical life. Everything is

there: Holy Church, with all its ranks of believers, its honorable

priesthood and its supreme pontificate acting as an instrument

destined by God for the uniting of the nations in such a way that

a true and lasting elevation of human society may be established.

Yes, all that We expressed in greeting in Our three previous

Christmas messages is contained there. Do you remember?

Knowledge of the truth, Pax et veritas (peace and truth),

leading us to adore the Son of God made man for us, and to ac-

cept His message of redemption. Pax et veritas, giving

strength to high ideals and endurance to good resolutions of

knowing and serving the truth. Pax et unitas (peace and unity),

an urgent invitation to show loyalty to this Apostolic See which

is the center of unity. And lastly, Pax et iustitia (peace and

justice), for this vision of the unique reality of the Church con-

tains invaluable means for building up a solid social structure

and for establishing peaceful relations between men, whether

between individuals of the same nation or the same trade, or

whether on a universal scale in the world as a whole, which be-

longs to all and should guarantee to all employment and a life

of peace.

To this threefold light of peace in truth, in unity, in justice,

would it not be well to add, this year, for our greater spiritual

profit, a fourth ray, the light of goodness. Pax Christi in

bonitate (the peace of Christ in goodness).

How gladly do we turn our thoughts towards the glorious

Kingdom of Christ in the spirit of the liturgy, which is soon to

say: “The King of Peace is glorified and all the earth longs for

His favor. The King of Peace is glorified over all the kings of

the whole earth.’ *4 Let it be, then, the peace of Christ in good-

ness.

The first thing that we see is Jesus inviting us from the

crib of Bethlehem, anticipating the occasions in His later life

3. St. Leo., Sermon XXVI [On the Nativity VI]

,

II, III, V;

Migne, PL 54 - 213, 214, 216.

4. Vespers of Christmas.

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when He, the Divine Master, will be held in reverence and hailed

as rabbi by the enthusiastic crowds, and will say to them:

“Learn from Me, for 1 am meek and humble of heart.

This voice from the crib is the outward manifestation of

the “goodness” of Jesus, of which He is the living reality and

the divine source and whose grace is the universal authority of

peace for all the world.

This authority, alas, full of humility and meekness, and

holding out the joy of universal peace, remains with the passing

of the years a sign of contradiction and of the obstinate hardness

of men in their relations with one another.

If we look at the events of recent times, we might well say

that in our day fear and alarm are producing a burning fever of

estrangement one from another. And though this isuncounscious

in many cases, it is, for all that, noticeable in dealings with

others, and leads to continuous disturbance in domestic, social,

civil and international relationships.

Such an observation is all the more tragic when one re-

flects that in the Creator’s providential plan, men are meant to

understand, to help and to complete one another by brotherly

cooperation, by patiently overcoming differences and by sharing

the goods of the earth fairly, iustitia duce, cavitate comite,

according to charity and justice.

On this subject the Prophets and Psalms speak with clarity,

inculcating goodness and love in the name of God. Isaias says:

“Ease the insupportable burden, set free the over-driven; away

with every yoke that galls! Share thy bread with the hungry, give

the poor and the vagrant a welcome to thy house; meet thou the

naked, clothe him; from thy own flesh and blood turn not away.

The Lord will give thee rest continually, fill thy soul with

comfort.
”7

If we consider mutual relationships as they exist today in

national and international affairs, we can see how far they still

are from the Divine Teaching which shines in the age of the Old

Testament and bursts out into perfect light with the coming of

the Divine Master in the fulness of time. All His teaching is an

invitation to peace, for it proclaims the blessedness of peace.

But here, on the contrary, under the cloak of fair words- -when,

at least, the outward appearance is maintained, and even that

5. Matt. 11, 29.

6. Pius XII, encyclical Sertum Laetitiae, Nov. 1, 1939.

7. Is. 58, 6-7, 11.

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unfortunately is not always the case- -there is often a spirit

opposed to peace.

It is the pride of the man of power who destroys. It is the

greed of the man of wealth who hardens his heart to the needs of

his brothers.® It is the callousness of the complacent man who

pays no heed to the great cry of suffering which exists in the

world. It is the selfishness of the man who thinks exclusively of

himself.

In every case it is the goodness of Christ which is lacking,

and which above all must provide the antidote to this spirit of

contradiction and hard-heartedness, paving the way to a more

peaceful attitude to things.

In Our encyclical, Mater et Magistra, it was Our wish to

stress the fact that “when men are animated by the charity of

Christ, they feel united, and the needs, sufferings and joys of

others are felt as their own. Consequently the action of each

one- -as We said- -cannot help but be more disinterested, more

energetic, more humane, because charity is patient, is kind . .

.

seeketh not her own . . . rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth

with the truth. . . hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

It is good that the supplication for peace which rises up this

year from the crib of Bethlehem should be an invocation of

goodness, an appreciation of true brotherhood, a resolution of

sincere cooperation, shunning all intrigue and all those discor-

dant elements which We have called and which We call again
without disguising Our words: pride, greed, callousness, self-

ishness.

The invitation should be all the more pressing, for mutual

distrust is making conditions progressively worse. Consider only

the state of fearfulness in which men are living because of

flaunted violence and fostered enmity, and it is clear that this is

giving rise to a general coolness and making it more and more

widespread.

In such a situation it is natural to think of the grave and

solemn words of Christ, spoken in prophecy and warning:

“Because iniquity hath abounded the charity of many shall grow

cold.
10

8. 1 John 3, 17.

9. 1 Cor. 13, 4-7; A.A.S. LIII, (1961) p. 461.

10.

Matt. 24, 12.

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Man is no longer brother, good, merciful and loving to his

fellow men, but has become a stranger, calculating, suspicious

and selfish.

What a crying need there is for the only remedy, which is to

be found in giving a welcome to Jesus of Bethlehem, the Lamb

of God, who has come to take away the sin of the world,^ in
having recourse to His grace, in putting into practice His teach-

ing of mercy.

O blessed feast of Christmas: meeting place of simple folk,

invitation to inner purity, to goodness to all men, for “the kind-

ness of God, Our Saviour, dawned on us, His great love for

men.”^

It is sad to have to deplore evil, but merely to deplore it

does not remove it. We must desire, accomplish and exalt the

good. It is goodness that we must openly proclaim before the

world, so that it shines out and permeates every form of indi-

vidual and social activity.

Every individual must be good because he is the mirror of a

clear conscience which does not admit of duplicity, cunning or

hardness of heart. He must be good by being given continually to

interior purification and true perfection, by being faithful to an

unshakable purpose, the measure of all his thoughts and actions.

“The family too must be good,” with mutual love burning

like a flame in the exercise of all virtue. Goodness sweetens

and strengthens paternal authority, and is nurtured by maternal

tenderness. It encourages obedience on the part of the children,

controls the exuberance of youth, inspires necessary sacrifices.

There is furthermore that goodness which should rule our

actions “outside the confines of the home,” though in union

with it. Various applications can be given in the schools of all

grades, in the various institutions of civic life, which is ordered

to the harmonious association of citizens based on peace, respect

and friendship. All the relationships of the social order are

founded on goodness, which St. Leo the Great recommends in

the most vivid language: “To commit injustice and to make

reparation- -this is the prudence of this world. On the contrary,

not to render evil for evil is the virtuous expression of Christian

forgiveness . . . Therefore let humility be loved and let the faithful

shun all arrogance. Let everyone give preference to his brethren

11. cf. John l, 29.

12. Tit . 3, 4.

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before himself, and let no one seek his own interest, but that of

his neighbor, so that where all are filled with benevolence, there

may be no place left for the poison of enmity.

“And finally all humanity must be good.” These words,

which resound through the ages and are now repeated with mod-

ern accents, recalled the duty incumbent on all men to be good.

That means to be just, upright, generous, disinterested, willing

to understand and to forgive, ready to grant pardon with mag-

nanimity. As an invitation to the exercise of this duty, We turn

to the appeal, which with all trust We started out to make in this

radio broadcast, to desire peace and to eliminate all obstacles

in its way.

We cannot believe that the terrific energy now under the

control of man will be released for the world’s destruction. For

side by side with elements of fear and apprehension, there are

positive signs of goodwill that is constructive and productive

of good. While We give thanks to the Lord, the source of good-

ness, We also give voice to a heartfelt appeal that all those who

control economic forces should risk everything- -but not the peace

of the world and the lives of men— to seek every means that
modern progress has put at their disposal to increase the wel-

fare and security of the world, and not to sow distrust and mutual

suspicion. And again, to use the words of Our encyclical Mater

et Magistra, “We point out with sadness . . . that while on the one
hand are brought out in strong relief situations of want, and the

specter of misery and hunger haunts us, on the other hand scien-

tific discoveries, technical inventions and economic resources

are being used, often extensively, to provide terrible instruments

of ruin and death.

We also appeal to those responsible for forming public

opinion, even if only in a limited area, to fear the severe judg-

ment of God and of history and to proceed with caution, governed

by a sense of balance. On not a few occasions in modern times-

-

and this We state with candor and regret- -the press has con-
tributed to the production of an atmosphere of aversion, enmity

and discord.

We appeal to the rulers of nations, who today hold in their
hands the fate of mankind. You also are men, fragile and mortal.

13. Sermon XXXVII [On the Epiphany Vliy, IV;Migne,PL 54,

259.

14. A.A.S. LIII (1961) p. 448.

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Upon you are the anxious eyes of your fellowmen, who are first

your brothers before they are your subjects. With the authority

which We have received from Jesus Christ, We say: Shun all

thought of force; think of the tragedy of initiating a chain reaction

of acts, decisions and resentments that could erupt into rash

and irreparable deeds. You have received great powers not to

destroy but to build, not to divide but to unite, not to cause tears

to be shed but to provide employment and security.

These are the various applications of that goodness that

should penetrate every aspect of human life. This goodness is

power and dominion over oneself, patience with others, charity

that is neither extinguished nor dimmed because it sincerely wills

the welfare of all according to the immortal words of St. Augus-

tine: “It remains peaceful in the midst of insults, productive of

good amidst hate; meek in spite of anger, harmless amidst

snares: it groans among the iniquitous, and breathes in the

truth: inter iniquitates gemens, in veritate respirans .

Venerable brethren and beloved children. In the renewed

contemplation of the Son of God made Man, may the message of

goodness and evangelical charity come to all men in its full

clarity. May it be to all believers a new inspiration to live it

in its fulness, giving an example to an anxious world. May it

appeal to all men of goodwill to make salutary reflections on

the applications of those principles upon which well-ordered

social life is founded.

The humble Vicar of Christ in raising his voice wished to

propose with the clearest evidence the common obligation that

flows from the very essence of Christmas.

As We end this message, Our thoughts turn with affection to
all humanity for whose salvation the Divine Word became in-

carnate, and in particular to the suffering, to those enduring

tribulations of mind and body, to those who are denied justice

and charity. To all go Our paternal good wishes for all consola-

tion.

We cannot pass over the anxiety that Our heart feels at the

thought that when next Christmas day dawns upon the world,

there will still be people without peace, without security, without

religious liberty- -people tormented by the specter of war and

famine. For them Our most fervent prayers and supplications

rise to heaven, together with a paternal wish that all difficulties

15. Sermon 350, 3.

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and controversies be resolved equitably and a renewed appeal to

the rulers of all nations that through their united efforts justice,

equity, and that longed for peace may be realized.

On the note of peace, founded on true goodness. We are

pleased to end Our message to which We add Our best wishes

and the gift of the apostolic blessing.

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