Dear brothers and sisters, with the Christmas novena, which we are celebrating in these days, the Church is inviting us to live in an intense and profound way the preparation for the Nativity of the Savior, which is now imminent. The desire that we all hold in our hearts is that the upcoming feast of Christmas may give us, in the midst of the frenetic activity of our days, the serene and profound joy that allows us to touch with our hands the goodness of our God, and fills us with new courage.
In order to understand better the significance of the Nativity of the Lord, I would like to make some brief remarks on the historical origin of this solemnity. In fact, the Church's liturgical year did not initially develop beginning from the birth of Christ, but from faith in his resurrection. For this reason, the most ancient feast of Christianity is not Christmas, it is Easter; the resurrection of Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith, it is at the basis of the proclamation of the Gospel, and gives birth to the Church. Therefore being Christian means living in a Paschal manner, participating in the dynamism that arises from baptism and leads us to die to sin in order to live with God (cf. Romans 6:4).
The first to state clearly that Jesus was born on December 25 was Hippolytus of Rome, in his commentary on the book of the prophet Daniel, written about the year 204. Some exegetes later noted that the feast of the dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem, instituted by Judas Maccabeus in 164 B.C., was celebrated on that day. The coinciding of these dates would therefore mean that with Jesus, who appeared as the light of God in the darkness, there is the true realization of the consecration of the Temple, the Advent of God upon this earth.
The feast of Christmas took on definitive form in Christianity in the fourth century, when it replaced the Roman feast of the "Sol Invictus," the invincible sun; this highlighted the fact that the birth of Christ is the victory of the true light over the darkness of evil and sin.
However, the special and intense spiritual atmosphere that surrounds Christmas developed in the Middle Ages, thanks to St. Francis of Assisi, who was deeply in love with the man Jesus, with God-with-us. His first biographer, Thomas of Celano, recounts in the book "Second Life" that Saint Francis "above all of the other solemnities celebrated with indescribable fervor the Nativity of the Child Jesus, and called a 'feast of feasts' the day on which God, having become a little infant, suckled at a human breast" (Fonti Francescane, 199, p. 492).
This special devotion to the mystery of the incarnation gave rise to the famous celebration of Christmas in Greccio. St. Francis probably got his inspiration for this from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and from the crèche at Saint Mary Major in Rome. What drove the Little Poor Man of Assisi was the desire to experience in a concrete, living, and present way the greatness of the event of the birth of the Child Jesus, and to communicate its joy to everyone.
In his first biography, Thomas of Celano talks about the night of the crèche in Greccio in a living and touching way, making a decisive contribution to the spread of the most beautiful Christmas tradition, that of the crèche. Christmas Eve in Greccio, in fact, restored to Christianity the intensity and beauty of the feast of Christmas, and taught the people of God to grasp its most authentic message, its unique warmth, and to love and adore the humanity of Christ.
This unique approach to Christmas brought a new dimension to the Christian faith. Easter had focused attention on the power of God who conquers death, inaugurates the new life, and teaches hope in the world to come. St. Francis and his crèche highlighted the defenseless love of God, his humility and kindness, which in the incarnation of the Word are manifested to man in order to teach a new way of living and loving.
Celano recounts that, on that Christmas Eve, Francis was granted the grace of a wonderful vision. He saw lying motionless in the manger a little baby, who was awakened from his sleep by the presence of Francis. And he adds: "Nor was this vision at odds with the facts, because, through the work of his grace acting by means of his holy servant Francis, the Child Jesus was reawakened in the hearts of many who had forgotten him, and was profoundly impressed in their loving memory" (Vita prima, Fonti Francescane, 86, p. 307).
This backdrop describes with great precision how much Francis' living faith in and love for the humanity of Christ transmitted to the Christian feast of Christmas: the discovery that God reveals himself in the tender members of the Child Jesus. Thanks to St. Francis, the Christian people have been able to perceive that at Christmas, God truly became "Emmanuel," God-with-us, who is not separated from us by any barrier or distance. In that Child, God became so close to each one of us, so near, that we are able to talk to him as a friend and establish a familiar relationship of profound affection with him, as we do with a newborn.
In that Child, in fact, is manifested God-Love: God comes without weapons, without power, because he does not intend to conquer, so to speak, from the outside, but instead intends to be welcomed by man in freedom; God becomes a defenseless Child in order to overcome man's arrogance, violence, and desire for possession. In Jesus, God has taken on this poor and unarmed condition in order to conquer us with love, and lead us to our true identity. We must not forget that the greatest title of Jesus Christ is precisely that of "Son," Son of God; the divine dignity is indicated with a term that extends the reference to the humble condition of the manger in Bethlehem, although it still corresponds in a unique way to his divinity, which is the divinity of the "Son."
Moreover, his condition as a Child shows us how we can encounter God and enjoy his presence. It is in the light of Christmas that we can understand the words of Jesus: "If you do not convert and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). Those who have not understood the mystery of Christmas have not understood the decisive element of Christian existence. Those who do not welcome Jesus with the heart of a child cannot enter the kingdom of heaven: this is what Francis wanted to remind the Christianity of this time and of all times, up until today.
Let us pray to the Father that he grant our hearts that simplicity which recognizes the Child as Lord, just as Francis did in Greccio. Then we too may experience what Thomas of Celano - referring to the experience of the shepherds on Christmas Eve (cf. Luke 2:20) - recounts about those who were present at the event in Greccio: "Everyone went home full of inexpressible joy" (Vita prima, Fonti Francescane, 86, p. 479).
This is the wish that I extend with affection to all of you, to your families and loved ones. Merry Christmas to you all!
(Catechesis given by Benedict XVI at the general audience on Wednesday, December 23, 2009).
Saint Lazarus was born in Bethany and he had two sisters, Martha and Mary. Jesus was friends with Lazarus and visited often with his family. Saint Lazarus is known as the Patron Saint of the Poor and Sick by the Catholic Church.
The story of Saint Lazarus begins when he gets ill at the age of 30. At the age of 30 Lazarus contracted leprosy an illness that did not have a cure and died shortly after.
Leprosy is a disease that shows up as skin lesions. The lesions grow deeper and deeper and affect the nerve and organs.
The word Leprosy comes from the Greek Language and it mean Fish Scales.
Both Mary and Martha Lazarus's sisters send word to Jesus of Lazarus condition and hoped that he would come and visit. Jesus received word and started his journey to Lazarus. Once Jesus arrived Lazarus had passed away and had been buried for four days. Both Mary and Martha thought that it was too late because Lazarus had passed but Jesus went directly to his grave.
When Jesus arrived at Lazarus grave he began to pray. Once he completed his prayer he stood up and said in a loud voice "Lazarus, Come Out!" and Lazarus emerged from his grave. Jesus had performed a resurrection and Lazarus was alive and walking. Both Jesus and Lazarus walked back to his home in the cloth Lazarus had been buried in. This became a testament to the miracles of Jesus.
The devotion and friendship that already existed from Lazarus to Jesus grew. As a faithful follower Lazarus became a prophet and a significant Christian that would have a strong impact with people everywhere he went. Lazarus went to live to the age of 60 and died and was buried Sarcophagus at Kition. His tomb was transferred to Constantinople where is tomb reads "The Four Day Lazarus, Friend of Christ"
In the Catholic tradition all saints are depicted in statues and Saint Lazarus is no different. The statue for Saint Lazarus is usually depicted as a poor man in crutches with dogs around him. His clothing will be minimal and usually in the color purple. Saint Lazarus Feast Day or the day of observation for Saint Lazarus is December 17th.
Both of Saint Lazarus sisters are recognized as saints in their own right. Saint Martha is considered the patron Saint of Servants and Cooks. The day of observance or Feast Day for Saint Martha is July 29th. Saint Mary's feast Day or Day of Observance is July 22nd.
The Catholic Church invokes sick people and people with AIDS to Saint Lazarus for prayer and hope. Prayer to Saint Lazarus can be in a form of a Novena, Rosary Prayers or a specific prayer taken from the bible. Catholic traditions involves presenting the saint of devotion with flowers and candles as well will you invoke them.
St. Lazarus was born in Bethany, a small town near Jerusalem. Jesus knew his father Simon and used to visit their home every time he was in the area. He developed so a close friendship with Lazarus, who followed his teaching and ideals.
At the age of thirty Lazarus became very ill. His sisters Martha and Maria informed Jesus of the seriousness of his condition but he did not seem to be concerned. By the time Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus was dead and buried for four days. Jesus went straight to his grave, he prayed and then raised his voice: "Lazarus, come out", he shouted. And indeed, in a while Lazarus came out of the grave wrapped with his burial cloth. He was un-wrapped and returned with Jesus to his house, accompanied by the crowd.
Following this miracle even more people believed in Christ and followed his teachings. This was the reason why the leaders of the Jews decided to assassinate him. When Lazarus learnt about their plans he found refused at Kition (Larnaca) of Cyprus. There he was met by the apostles Paul and Barnabas, who ordained him as the first bishop of Kition. Lazarus became an example of a Christian. His physical presence was an indication of God's love for his people while his spiritual activity symbolized the love of man for God.
Lazarus died at the age of sixty and was buried in a sarcophagus at Kition with an inscription "The four-day Lazarus, friend of Christ". In 890 AD the emperor of Byzantium Leon VI Sophos transferred Lazarus' remains to Constantinople and in return he built a church at Larnaca devoted to St. Lazarus. The church survives to this date.
Lazarus is the poor man at the gate of the rich man in Christ's parable related in Luke. (Luke 16:19-31) His name was perpetuated in the Middle Ages by such words as Lazaretto (hospital), Lazarone (a beggar in the street), and the Order of St. Lazarus, which though a military order, had as one of its objectives, the care of lepers. His feast day is June 21st.
Reputed first Bishop of Marseilles, died in the second half of the first century.
According to a tradition, or rather a series of traditions combined at different epochs, the members of the family at Bethany, the friends of Christ, together with some holywomen and others of His disciples, were put out to sea by the Jews hostile to Christianity in a vessel without sails, oars, or helm, and after a miraculous voyage landed in Provence at a place called today the Saintes-Maries. It is related that they separated there to go and preach the Gospel in different parts of the southeast of Gaul.
During the new persecution of Domitian he was cast into prison and beheaded in a spot which is believed to be identical with a cave beneath the prison Saint-Lazare. His body was later translated to Autun, and buried in the cathedral of that town. But the inhabitants of Marseilles claim to be in possession of his head which they still venerate.
Like the other legends concerning the saints of the Palestinian group, this tradition, which was believed for several centuries and which still finds some advocates, has no solid foundation. It is in a writing, contained in an eleventh century manuscript, with some other documents relating to St. Magdalen of Vézelay, that we first read of Lazarus in connection with the voyage that brought Magdalen to Gaul.
Before the middle of the eleventh century there does not seem to be the slightest trace of the tradition according to which the Palestinian saints came to Provence. At the beginning of the twelfth century, perhaps through a confusion of names, it was believed at Autun that the tomb of St. Lazarus was to be found in the cathedraldedicated to St. Nazarius. A search was made and remains were discovered, which were solemnly translated and were considered to be those of him whom Christ raised from the dead, but it was not thought necessary to inquire why they should be found in France.
The question, however, deserved to be examined with care, seeing that, according to a tradition of the Greek Church, the body of St. Lazarus had been brought to Constantinople, just as all the other saints of the Palestinian group were said to have died in the Orient, and to have been buried, translated, and honoured there. It is only in the thirteenth century that the belief that Lazarus had come to Gaul with his two sisters and had been Bishop of Marseilles spread in Provence.
It is true that a letter is cited (its origin is uncertain), written in 1040 by Pope Benedict IX on the occasion of the consecration of the new church of St.-Victor in which Lazarus is mentioned. But in this text the pope speaks only of relics of St. Lazarus, merely calling him the saint who was raised again to life. He does not speak of him as having lived in Provence, or as having been Bishop of Marseilles.
The most ancient Provençal text alluding to the episcopacy of St. Lazarus is a passage in the "Otia imperialia" of Gervase of Tillbury (1212). Thus the belief in his Provençal apostolate is of very late date, and its supporters must produce more ancient and reliable documentary evidence. In the crypt of St.-Victor at Marseilles an epitaph of the of the fifth century has been discovered, which informs us that a bishop named Lazarus was buried there.
In the opinion of the most competent archæologists, however, this personage is Lazarus, Bishop of Aix, who was consecrated at Marseilles about 407, and who, having had to abandon his see in 411, passed some time in Palestine, whence he returned to end his days in Marseilles. It is more than likely that it is the name of this bishop and his return from Palestine, that gave rise to the legend of the coming of the Biblical Lazarus to Provence, and his apostolate in the city of Marseilles.
ROME, Italy (CNA) - “The Pope denounces the ecological crisis but does not belong to the church of Al Gore," wrote Giuliano Ferrara, director of Italian daily Il Foglio, in his editorial column after reading Benedict XVI's message for the World Day of Peace.
Ferrara described the papal message as being "of great culture" in its reminder that man must be valued above all other living things.
The Pontiff's message underscores the threats to the environment and the necessity of taking decisive action to find long-term, inter-generational solutions to the crises of today. It also provides parameters for the role of the Church and individual Christians in combating the environmental and economic crises, pointing to a renewal of values and morality without losing sight of the "distinctiveness and superior role" of human beings over nature.
"Benedict XVI," wrote Ferrara in his analysis, "in no way denies human abuse of nature,” but in affirming the ecological crisis, neither does he share "the environmentalist religion or environmentalism as a religion."
"The Pope has another faith," Ferrara explained, one "based on the transcendence of a God that creates man in his image and likeness to entrust nature to him ... he has, evidently, no need for replacement beliefs, of ideologies feigned as science."
The Holy Father's letter included a warning against sacrificing the sanctity of man and applying an attitude of absolutism to nature, giving it equal status to mankind. To this, the director of Il Foglio added that such a mentality of reducing the person "to nothing more than a particle of nature... excludes, (at times) even with the approval of scientific certainty, the self-conscious freedom of humanity."
The Pope credits the differentiation between humankind and other animal and plant life to the God-given unique physical and meta-physical constitution of men and women and their capacity to govern and protect the creation entrusted to their hands, explained Ferrara.
Benedict's caution against “pantheism tinged with neo-paganism, which would see the source of man’s salvation in nature alone" is not merely words to be heeded by the faithful, Ferrara emphasized in the editorial. Instead, readers should also read them as a "sign of civilization and culture, an interesting syntax for us laymen and modernists (and postmodernists)."
"Indeed we too, for a long time, have been intellectually scorning and criticizing, based on rational arguments consistent with the Biblical tale, the magic environmentalism of the gurus and the militant organizations who foster a global redemption, especially when dubious, manipulating emails are exchanged as part of an idolatrous dance, supported by powerful interests with no true magic whatsoever," wrote Ferrara.
Il Foglio also published an article in its Wednesday edition on the the deception of certain scientists and politicians who have falsified statistics to sway public opinion in their favor in the global-warming debate.
I hope this article elucidates and counter-acts some of thecounter-factual rhetoric, with the invariably accompanying anti-Papal bigotry, which has been, falsely, spreading.
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Tim Pawlenty, who abandoned a re-election bid for a third term as governor of Minnesota to run for the White House in 2012, is not wasting time taking shots at President Obama.
"President Obama is a gifted speaker, but he has taken the country in a very dangerous and misguided direction," he told Fox News on Wednesday during a trip to New Hampshire. "The country is figuring that out, and so the pendulum is swinging back away from Democrats. So now it's an opportunity for conservatives to make their case as to why we deserve another chance."
On paper, Pawlenty has the makings of a top-tier presidential candidate: past chairman of the National Governor's Association, co-chairman of John McCain's presidential bid, short-listed for vice president.
And in Minnesota, he pushed for inexpensive drug importation from Canada and elsewhere -- a popular ideal nationally that the Senate rejected this week, preserving the Obama administration's deal with drug companies to support health care reform.
"The Obama administration cut a deal with the pharmaceutical industry to protect them, and it's unfortunate, because if we can import and trade all around the world, we can't get prescription drugs for granny from Canada?"
But Pawlenty has a problem in this state, where they eat White House pretenders for breakfast: name recognition.
Mitt Romney leads the latest University of New Hampshire poll with a 76 percent favorable rating, followed by Rudy Giuliani with 61 percent. Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin are well known and in the 50s. Pawlenty is way back with a 21 percent favorable rating. A vast majority, 65 percent, don't know who he is.
"The campaigns that are the frontrunners in this race were already organized and getting their people in place prior to the last presidential election," said Andy Smith, a political scientist at UNH. "The Romney campaign for example never essentially went away. He still has his same staff together. He still has his people together. Now Pawlenty is at a different place because he's not known up here."
Pawlenty made the traditional first stops in the first primary state: the only statewide newspaper and only statewide TV station.
"I'm happy to share what I've done in Minnesota, whether that leads to a future race more broadly, I don't know. We'll just see," he said.
73-year-old leader, who suffered severe facial injuries after being struck by a man clutching a replica of Milan's cathedral, was driven away from the hospital in the northern city after spending his fourth night there.
He appeared to be smiling despite the white bandage stretched between his nose and his left cheek, which took the full force of the blow.
His personal doctor said earlier that Mr Berlusconi had spent a restful night.
"The prime minister passed a quiet night, without pain, and he may leave hospital earlier than planned, maybe at the end of the morning," said Dr Alberto Zangrillo.
Mr Berlusconi had expected to leave on Wednesday but was ordered to stay another night because of persistent pain.
Sunday's attack left Berlusconi with a broken nose, two broken teeth and other facial injuries, but the prime minister will not need plastic surgery, Dr Zangrillo said.
Old neck pains that resurfaced after the attack caused Mr Berlusconi severe headaches.
Police have said Berlusconi's assailant, Massimo Tartaglia, 42, has a long history of psychiatric problems.
Mr Tartaglia, who could face up to five in jail if convicted of assault, remains in police custody despite a request from his lawyers to transfer him at least temporarily to a psychiatric hospital.
WASHINGTON - United States President Barack Obama telephoned Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi Tuesday night to wish him a speedy recovery from Sunday's attack in Milan, the White House said. Obama was the latest in a string of world leaders to phone the recuperating premier. Obama found Berlusconi "in excellent spirits," National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said.
He said the US president thanked Berlusconi for the "leadership" he had shown in Afghanistan where Italy has contributed more troops than any of America's NATO allies to the surge against the Taliban. Berlusconi is expected to leave hospital Wednesday after Sunday's attack in which his nose and two teeth were broken by a man with reported mental health problems.
Berlusconi is suffering from neck pains after the attack, his spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti told Italian TV Wednesday. ''Unfortunately he suffered pains all night, which was more disturbed than the others,'' Bonaiuti said. He said the persistence of these pains was ''a bit worrying'' and might affect a decision on when he will leave hospital. ''The medical staff will see him between noon and one o'clock and then we'll say when he'll be able to leave,'' Bonaiuti said. Berlusconi has been ordered to rest for two weeks after he leaves hospital but Bonaiuti said keeping the go-getting Berlusconi out of action would be a ''mission impossible''.
Bonaiuti added that Berlusconi had been ''very happy'' to receive the get-well-soon wish from Obama. He was also pleased to get a visit from two members of his AC Milan soccer club, Clarence Seedorf and Thiago Silva, the premier's spokesman said.Security has been tightened around Milan's San Raffaele hospital.
MAN GETS IN, 'WANTED TO TALK TO PREMIER'.
Despite the beefed-up security, a man succeeded in getting to the entrance of Berlusconi's ward during the night, police said.
They said the man, a 26-year-old from Turin, ''appeared to have psychological problems''.
A background check established that the unidentified man had been sectioned in a Turin hospital last year because of unspecified mental problems.
The man was ''immediately'' stopped outside the ward by the Italian premier's security detail and is in custody.
"I want to greet the premier, I want to greet the premier," the man is reported to have said.
Police said the man parked in the underground car park at the San Raffale hospital and took the lift to the ward, where he was stopped, searched and detained.
The man was found to be carrying no weapons.
Some hockey sticks and rusty knives were found in his car.
The man's parents told police they had not noticed their son had left the house at around one o'clock a.m.
He arrived at the hospital about an hour later.
The man does not face any legal action as yet, police said.
Berlusconi's assailant Massimo Tartaglia, a 42-year-old electronics engineer, has asked to be sent to a psychiatric facility rather than jail.
A decision is expected later Wednesday.
Tartaglia hurled a replica model of the Milan Duomo from close range at the premier on Sunday, splitting his lip as well as breaking his nose and teeth.
The 26-year-old intruder, who police said "appeared to have a mental problem", was stopped at about 2am close to the Italian prime minister's room in a Milan hospital.
Mr Berlusconi is being treated there following the attack he suffered on Sunday evening when he was smashed in the face with a souvenir replica of the city's cathedral, the Duomo.
Model in Silvio Berlusconi sleaze claims has car set on fire"He was coming out of the lift when bodyguards and police immobilised him immediately," said a police spokesman.
"He said he wanted to talk to the prime minister. He did not have an aggressive attitude or any weapon or dangerous object on him. We found hockey sticks in his car."
Mr Berlusconi, who could leave hospital on Wednesday depending on the outcome of an a medical examination, is recovering from a broken nose, two broken teeth and other injuries.
The assailant, Massimo Tartaglia, 42, who has apologised to the 73-year-old prime minister for what he called a "cowardly" act, faces charges of aggravated assault, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Read more about the Berlusconi incident and fallout here and here.
NEW YORK (CNS) -- In an effort to reach as wide a market as possible, most Christmas-themed movies come gift-wrapped in a secular brand of sentimentality that completely misses the true meaning of the holiday. But Hollywood finally gets it right with "The Nativity Story" (New Line).
From the opening strains of the soundtrack -- hints of the Advent hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" -- you know you're in good hands.
A composite of the birth narrative accounts in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, embroidered with apocryphal traditions as well as the imaginative inspiration of the filmmaker, the Bible story gets prestigious treatment in director Catherine Hardwicke's artful, reverent and deeply affecting retelling. The film has an excellent international cast and impressive production design similar to that of "The Passion of the Christ," the financial success of which no doubt paved the way for this movie. (Without the blood and controversy, however, "The Nativity Story" should appeal to an even wider audience.)
Filmed in Matera -- the ancient Italian town where Mel Gibson shot "The Passion" -- and Morocco, it opens with prophecy-paranoid King Herod (Ciaran Hinds) plotting to kill all the male babies in Bethlehem.
Flashing back a year, Zechariah (Stanley Townsend) is told by an angelic voice that his wife Elizabeth (Shohreh Aghdashloo), though advanced in age, will bear a son.
In Nazareth, her young cousin, Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes), a peasant girl -- still practically a child and living under the daily uncertainties of Roman occupation -- is informed by her parents, Anna and Joaquim (Hiam Abbass and Shaun Toub), that she is to marry Joseph (Oscar Isaac), an upright carpenter a few years her senior. Troubled over her betrothal to "a man I hardly know, a man I do not love," Mary withdraws to a nearby grove where the Annunciation, nicely handled, takes place, with Alexander Siddig personifying the angel Gabriel who reveals she will give birth to Jesus.
Meanwhile in Persia, the three Magi set out to follow the star westward (explained here as a rare convergence of Venus, Jupiter and an astral body).
What is described with only a few lines in Luke's Gospel becomes the meat of the film, as Joseph and Mary undertake the arduous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, battling sandstorms, treacherous terrain, hunger and, while passing through Jerusalem, thieves.
Along the way, Hardwicke, raised Presbyterian, weaves in references that foreshadow events in Christ's life: Mary washing Joseph's feet; Joseph expressing anger over merchants in the Temple courtyard; a roadside crucifixion. In a more symbolic allusion, during a river crossing, Mary is imperiled by a snake, echoing the serpent of Eden.
Though the New Testament is sparse on details about Mary and Joseph, the thoughtful screenplay of Mike Rich, a practicing Christian, manages to flesh them out while remaining faithful to Scripture, beautifully suggesting the humanity beneath the halos.
Castle-Hughes conveys maturity well, playing Mary with all the anxieties that anyone would have in her extraordinary situation while having to deal with the disparaging looks of neighbors, the threat of stoning and the incredulity of her own parents. Her mother even hints at rape.
Particularly touching is a scene in which Mary sits alone at night pondering why God has chosen her ("I am nothing," she sighs). Likewise, Isaac soulfully essays Joseph with an empathetic decency, as he quietly shoulders his appointed responsibility, while troubled by an abiding sense of inadequacy.
As to the birth of Jesus, it's all there: the shepherds, the Wise Men, etc. Despite some greeting-card gloss, cloying sentimentality is avoided. Throughout the film, Hardwicke never waters down the religious elements to make the story more palatable for nonbelievers, most clearly demonstrated when she has one of the Magi proclaim the radical truth of the Incarnation by declaring that the infant is "God made into flesh."
In a poignant moment that inextricably links the manger to the cross, his fellow traveler -- after his companions have presented their gifts of gold and frankincense -- tearfully offers the Christ Child myrrh "for his sacrifice," portending Jesus' atoning death.
Astute eyes will catch the shot of one of Herod's minions scouring the abandoned cavelike stable after the holy family has fled to Egypt and finding a swaddling cloth draped over the vacant manger, presaging the empty tomb.
Though placed differently from Luke's Gospel, Mary's "Magnificat" is incorporated by Hardwicke in a way that's most effective.
Amid the Christmas pageant elements, there are a few brief images (the slaughter of the innocents, for example) that may upset very young children. Both Mary's and Elizabeth's painful labor are vividly depicted.
The film's hopeful message should resonate beyond Christian audiences to a world still groaning for peace and good will.
The film contains some violent images. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I -- general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been punched in the face at a rally in Milan. The premier was left with a bloodied face and lips and two loose teeth after being hit by a young man who was arrested immediately.
Berlusconi was bundled into a car and taken to hospital for treatment. Officials say he will stay in hospital overnight for observation.
The incident happened after the premier delivered a long, rousing speech to his conservative supporters.
At the beginning of the meeting Berlusconi was heckled and whistled by about 10 members of the audience.
Helped by the sound system at the venue, he drowned them out, and a little later police had to intervene following scuffles between the hecklers and security staff.
Journalist Nick Pisa told Sky News that police sources identified Berlusconi's attacker as Massimo Tartaglia, 42, from Milan, who was said to have only ''minor driving convictions'' and was not known as a political activist.
However, police sources added that he had been ''receiving medical attention for mental problems'' for ten years.
Berlusconi was given a CAT scan by doctors at Milan's San Raffaele Hospital and AN initial report said that he had lost a ''reasonable amount of blood'' from his lips and that he had ''two loose teeth, one of which was fractured.''
Doctors said that as he was being treated on a stretcher Berlusconi had told them:''I'm fine, I'm fine, don't worry about me.''
It is the second time Berlusconi has been attacked in public; in 2004 he was hit over the head with a camera tripod while strolling in Rome.
Berlusconi, who has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks, on Friday dismissed accusations of mafia ties made by a turncoat criminal at an Italian court earlier this month as "a farce".
And he said he would not bow to pressure to go to the polls early. He began his third stint as prime minister in May 2008.
But a series of allegations about his private life earlier this year, which led to his wife filing for divorce, and his penchant for making controversial public statements have added to the political pressure against him.
Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis.
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