Baptism of fire

When it is close to midnight, on Christmas Eve, His Holiness Benedict XVI will move from his quarters to the beautiful Basilica of Saint Peter, the heart of the Vatican. There, for the first time, he will say his Midnight Mass for Christmas on satellite television, leading all the world in prayer.

He will be doing what John Paul II did so well, for twenty-five years. For Benedict, it will be his baptism of fire.

The people gathered together in the Basilica, and overflowing into the great courtyard of Saint Peter, will really represent the children of God all over the world. They come from all the continents: from Africa, from Asia, from South America, from Europe, from United States and Canada, from Australia. On the TV screen it is a very interesting, colorful assembly. It is like a stained glass window.

When the Midnight Mass is over, Pope Benedict XVI will go back to his quarters to rest. But at high noon he will appear on the balcony, overlooking the great pillars of the Basilica, to deliver his first Christmas Message "To the City and to the World."

Inevitably, the electronic journalists covering both the Mass and the Message will be prone to compare or contrast him with John Paul II. Because of the position he held in the Vatican for so many years, as Cardinal Ratzinger, Benedict XVI is known as a passionate protector of orthodoxy – which he is.

He has earned a reputation for being a priest with an eagle eye for truth and error. He is really a strong, determined, conservative, courageous scholar who has never been afraid to correct the Catholic clergy, when they needed correction. This is a virtue, but it provokes mixed emotions in the liberal theologians who work in countries far from Rome.

John Paul II was always warm, smiling, friendly –reaching out to people, especially to the young. Wherever he went, the teenagers would sing, with all their hearts: "John Paul Two. . . . We love you!" They are not quite ready to sing like that for Benedict XVI. He is still an unknown quantity.

But Benedict XVI is the Vicar of Christ on earth. God put him into that position, and God is wiser than all of us. God chose him because he is the right man for this moment in the history of the world.

God spoke through John Paul II, using his outgoing, affectionate personality to the full. And God speaks through Benedict XVI, using his mind, his passion for truth, his loyalty, his courage to the full.

Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI will say exactly the same things about the universal problems of our day. For the last five years of his life John Paul II was begging the world to live by the Gospel of Life, and to abandon the Culture of Death. Benedict XVI not only says the same thing. He tries to implement the Word of God in minute detail.

John Paul II was deeply disturbed by the little wars that are breaking out, in so many places. He wanted all the children of God to pray for peace, and to work for peace, right down to peace in the home, peace in the heart and soul of every man. Benedict XVI will lead the same campaign for "Peace on earth for men of good will."

John Paul II wept over the agonizing poverty of so many people. He called upon all of us to care for the poor, and share with the poor. Our own Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales has tried to implement this in his national movement "Pondo ng Pinoy" – the theology of the crumbs. Benedict XVI will try to implement caring and sharing, all over the world.

And John Paul wanted to break down the barriers between people. He wanted to build bridges, uniting all of Christianity, uniting all the myriad Christian sects, the tiny fragments into which we have broken. He wanted to unite Christians and Muslims, with Buddhists, with all the religions, with all who believe in God. At Assisi he hugged the Buddhist monk, the Muslim Imam, the Jewish Rabbi. Benedict XVI will follow this policy, because it comes straight from the Gospel: "one fold, one flock, one shepherd."

When you compare or contrast two Roman Pontiffs, you are only comparing the way in which they present the Word of God. It is the same Word. It is the same Galilean speaking, thinly disguised as a fatherly, friendly Pole or a strong, courageous German.

The Philippines is seven hours ahead of Rome, in the world time belts. So when Benedict XVI starts his Mass at Midnight in Saint Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican, it will be seven o’clock on Christmas morning, here in the Philippines.

The satellite telecast will be carried to us, live. We will see the Mass, and hear the Message, at the moment they happen, in Rome.

•The Mass and Message will be carried live over the National Broadcasting Network, Channel 4 in Manila. The Mass will start at 6:55 a.m. on Christmas morning. The Message at 6:55 p.m. on Christmas Day.

•The Associated Broadcasting Company, Channel 5 in Manila, will carry the Mass live, and the Message delayed, at 10:00 p.m.

•Radio Philippine Network, Inc., Channel 9 in Manila, will carry the Mass and Message delayed, at 11:00 p.m.

•Inter-Island Broadcasting Corporation, Channel 13 in Manila, will carry the Message live at 6:55 p.m.

The English commentary will be done by Archbishop John P. Foley, the President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He is an American, a former journalist from Philadelphia. He is the head of Catholic Communication all over the world, but he takes time out to do this Christmas commentary with amazing thoroughness.

He names all the Cardinals on the altar, the seminarians who serve, the choirs who sing, the attending dignitaries from all the nations, those who present gifts at the offertory, those who do the readings or say the Prayers of the Faithful, and many of the 100 priests who give out Communion!

Watching the Mass and Message on television, you really learn much more than if you were actually present in the Vatican.

This satellite telecast is the most viewed religious program in the television industry. For one brief shining moment all the children of God on the face of the earth can be united in prayer. It is not only for Catholics. It is for all those who believe in God. And even for those who are not sure what they believe.

For nine days before Christmas, in the early mornings, we stream through the streets to the Misas de Gallo. We are united, in small groups in our parish churches. But on Christmas morning we can be united with all the world, reaching out to God. It is the most beautiful thing that we can do. Because the Baby in the Manger reaches out to each one of us, touching our mind and heart and soul, bringing peace.

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