Christmas Day
Readings: Isaiah 52:7–10; Psalm 97(98):1–6; Hebrews 1:1–6; John 1:1–18
25 December 2022
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14
At the heart of the Christian message is that: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). To make that message real, we must affirm that the Word still becomes flesh—that Christ continues to come to us in real, concrete, actual ways.
What the world needs on Christmas day is not impersonal, sentimental statements sponsored by Christian institutions. The person who is grieving, or guilt-ridden, or despairing, needs the gift of a personal presence. Our world doesn’t just need the Word, it needs the Word to become flesh.
As people of Christ, we need to be there in all of the ways we can be there, for what God did once in the life of Jesus, God continues to do through the Church. So, how does the Word become flesh in us? By being present. We all have heard someone say: “I’m sorry I can’t be there, but I’ll be there in spirit.” But how will I know? God didn’t say: “I’ll be with you in spirit.”
The Word has become flesh and blood. The altar is a constant reminder of this. The eternal Word continues to become flesh and blood in the lives of his followers. We come to the altar to receive, and we return to the world carrying the living Word for the sake of all our brothers and sisters for whom Jesus died.
In our gratitude for the Word becoming flesh, let us not forget those who sit in darkness and in need.
Lord, help us to make your flesh become real in a lonely, despairing world. Amen.
Fr Sean Cullen
Artist Spotlight
The Madonna and Child with Eight Saints – Fra Angelico (C.1400–1455)
The Madonna and Child with Eight Saints (c.1450). 195cm x 273cm Fresco. San Marco Museum, Florence, Italy. Photo © Nicol. Orsi Battaglini / Bridgeman Images.
When filling the cells in corridors of the Monastery of San Marco in Florence with his exquisite works of devotion, Fra Angelico would have had in mind the Vitae Fratrum (the “Life of the Brothers”) written by the Friar Gerard de Frachet in the 13th century. “In the cells, then, they had before their eyes the images of (the Madonna) and her crucified Son, so that reading, praying and sleeping they might look at them and in turn be looked at with eyes of mercy” (as quoted by William Hood, Fra Angelico at San Marco).
This quotation perfectly describes The Madonna and Child with Eight Saints (detail) to be found in the east dormitory. When you consider that, before Fra Angelico, religious art was icon-style, the holy friar’s burst upon the scene was truly phenomenal. His figures display a realism seldom seen before. Look at the Christ Child. You almost feel like reaching out to touch him. The thrust of iconography is the exact opposite to Western painting. In icons, the subjects portrayed are looking at us rather than our gazing on them. Angelico has truly achieved this. The Child is more than a baby. He has an air of intelligence, looking directly into the heart of the viewer. Our Lady rests her gaze not on us, but on her Child so that he is the centre of attention.
In his painting, Fra Angelico alludes to a hymn found in the Divine Office of the time: “He who made all things held the whole world in his hand, even while in his mother’s womb.” Jesus sits on his mother’s lap and grasps the royal orb in his left hand. He possesses the world, no matter how young he is.
A fellow Dominican, Catherine of Siena, wrote: “Christ is a bridge stretching from heaven to earth, joining the earth of man’s humanity with the greatness of the Godhead” (Catherine of Siena, A Treatise of Divine Providence).
Fra Angelico’s charm and importance to us is that through his art he epitomises the motto of the Dominicans composed by St Thomas Aquinas: “Contemplata aliis tradere—to pass on to others things contemplated.” It was enough to convince Pope John Paul II to beatify him, and in the Jubilee of the Year 2000 to proclaim him patron of artists.
There is a frequent response in the psalter, “Let your face shine on your servant” (Ps 31:16). It is more than a pious wish. It refers to the practice of law in the Old Testament. If a defendant was found guilty, the judge would turn away his face. And so, the constant prayer of the believer is that God would show us his face—that is, that he would declare us innocent.
Listen to the words of St Bernard as he contemplates the Incarnation: “Behold, peace is no longer promised, but conferred; no longer delayed, but given; no longer predicted, but bestowed. Behold, God the Father has sent down to earth as it were, a bag filled with his mercy; a bag to be rent open in the Passion so that our ransom which it concealed might be poured out; a small bag indeed, but full. It is indeed a small Child who is given to us, but in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead” (St Bernard, Sermo I in Epiphania Domini). Fra Angelico places the mother and Child on a shawl of embroidered pomegranate, the crimson perhaps pointing to the future suffering of both.
While Fra Angelico’s piety was legendary, his artistic innovations and use of colour inspired many Renaissance artists, including Raphael. His reputation moved well beyond Italy. According to the well-respected painter and biographer, Giorgio Vasari, Fra Angelico was “saintly and excellent”. Fra Angelico was the name given to Fra Giovanni da Fiesole after his death in 1455 in Rome where he had decorated the pope’s private chapel with frescoes of Ss Stephen and Lawrence. He is buried in the Dominican Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva where his tomb remains still an object of great veneration.
Monsignor Graham Schmitzer
Fr Sean Cullen is the parish priest of Corpus Christi Catholic Parish in Mittagong–Bowral. He was ordained in 1984 and has served in a number of parishes in the Diocese of Wollongong. Over the years, he has undertaken various diocesan roles including vocations director, master of ceremonies, chair of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission and member of the Council of Priests. He is currently the diocesan episcopal vicar for clergy.
Monsignor Graham Schmitzer is the retired parish priest of Immaculate Conception Parish in Unanderra, NSW. He was ordained in 1969 and has served in many parishes in the Diocese of Wollongong. He was also chancellor and secretary to Bishop William Murray for 13 years. He grew up in Port Macquarie and was educated by the Sisters of St Joseph of Lochinvar. For two years he worked for the Department of Attorney General and Justice before entering St Columba’s College, Springwood, in 1962. Fr Graham loves travelling and has visited many of the major art galleries in Europe.
With thanks to the Diocese of Wollongong, who have supplied this reflection from their publication, Incarnate – Advent & Christmas Daily Reflections 2022. Reproduced with permission.
