Christmas Greeting from the Prelate of Opus Dei

Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz has sent a brief message for the solemnity of the Birth of Jesus.

My dear children: may Jesus watch over my daughters and sons for me!

The night on which we celebrate the birth of the Child Jesus is drawing near. These are days when the surrounding environment reflects our interior joy. The sign given to the shepherds at Bethlehem to recognize the Messiah was that they would find “a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12). There the Son of God was waiting for them. Let us draw close to the simplicity and silence of Bethlehem! May we let ourselves be wrapped in that recollection of the heart which our Father called “the door-keeper of the interior life” (The Way, no. 281). In the silence of Bethlehem, led by the hand of Mary and Joseph, our joys, our desires and our sufferings find their place, with renewed clarity.

With my most affectionate blessing, your Father wishes you a very happy and holy Christmas.

Rome, 16 December 2019