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Christmas 2024: Hope and peace in the shadow of crises
At Christmas 2024, Austrian bishops emphasize hope and peace in their sermons for the beginning of the Holy Year 2025.
Christmas 2024: Hope and peace in the shadow of crises
Today, December 25, 2024, the feast of the birth of Christ, Austria's bishops emphasized the central role of hope in today's world in their Christmas sermons. In his speech in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn emphasized the importance of Christmas as a reason for joy and gratitude. Despite the challenges the world is currently experiencing, God's incarnation is a profound signal of hope. He asked the important question: “Is Jesus the everything to me?” and called on believers to actively live the message of peace and redemption. These thoughts were also underlined by Archbishop Franz Lackner, who stated in Salzburg that peace must begin in the hearts of the people, given the discontent and need in the world.
Cry for hope
Eisenstadt Bishop Ägidius Zsifkovics described the Holy Year 2025 as an opportunity for inner renewal and as a way to become a pilgrim of hope. In his ceremonial sermon he called for people to sharpen their focus on the poor and also to seek a turn towards God in politics and society. Hope was also a strong theme in Bishop Hermann Glettler's Innsbruck sermon. He recalled that the message “Do not be afraid!” is valid even in the midst of war and conflict and that God's comforting presence is a source of strength.
Based on these words, Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz reported on the urgent need to spread hope and not succumb to despondency. His call to believers: to act as role models to inspire others. He emphasized that hope is a driving force for peace: “Those who hope do not start wars.” The bishops' messages highlight the need for a community of solidarity committed to peace and justice in a changing world, and illustrate that the time is ripe to actively live this hope in order to bring about positive change, as well bistumlimburg.de reported.
The speeches on Christmas Day not only represent a review of the meaning of Christmas, but are also an urgent appeal that the source of hope in the Christian message remains alive and must be passed on in the community, in the church and in society.