brothers and sisters in the faith, in these Palestinian Territories. I am gra-

teful to Patriarch Fouad Twal for the sentiments which he has expressed on

your behalf, and I greet with affection my brother Bishops and all the priests,

religious and lay faithful who labor daily to confirm this local Church in faith,

hope and love. In a special way my heart goes out to the pilgrims from war-

torn Gaza: I ask you to bring back to your families and your communities my

warm embrace, and my sorrow for the loss, the hardship and the suffering

you have had to endure. Please be assured of my solidarity with you in the

immense work of rebuilding which now lies ahead, and my prayers that the

embargo will soon be lifted.

"Do not be afraid; for behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy ...

today in the city of David a Savior is born for you".1 The message of Christ's

coming, brought from heaven by the voice of angels, continues to echo in this

town, just as it echoes in families, homes and communities throughout the

world. It is "good news", the angels say "for all the people". It proclaims that

the Messiah, the Son of God and the Son of David, has been born "for you":

for you and me, and for men and women in every time and place. In God's

plan, Bethlehem, "least among the clans of Judah",2 has become a place of

undying glory: the place where, in the fullness of time, God chose to become

man, to end the long reign of sin and death, and to bring new and abundant

life to a world which had grown old, weary and oppressed by hopelessness.

For men and women everywhere, Bethlehem is associated with this joyful

message of rebirth, renewal, light and freedom. Yet here, in our midst, how far

this magnificent promise seems from being realized! How distant seems that

Kingdom of wide dominion and peace, security, justice and integrity which the

Prophet Isaiah heralded in the first reading,3 and which we proclaim as defini-

tively established in the coming of Jesus Christ, Messiah and King!

From the day of his birth, Jesus was "a sign of contradiction",4 and he

continues to be so, even today. The Lord of hosts, "whose origin is from old,

from ancient days",5 wished to inaugurate his Kingdom by being born in this

little town, entering our world in the silence and humility of a cave, and

lying, a helpless babe, in a manger. Here, in Bethlehem, amid every kind

of contradiction, the stones continue to cry out this "good news", the mes-

sage of redemption which this city, above all others, is called to proclaim to

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1 Lk 2:10-11. 2 Mic 5:2. 3 Cfr. Is 9:7. 4 Lk 2:34. 5 Mic 5:2.