Cardinal Peter Erdo: We Have the Opportunity to Strive for Perfection + Video

The cardinal and primate of Hungary celebrates Holy Mass on Christmas Day in the Esztergom Basilica.

Cardinal Peter Erdo, Primate of Hungary (Photo: MTI/Attila Kovacs)

Cardinal Peter Erdo, Primate of Hungary, celebrated Holy Mass on December 25, in the Esztergom Basilica. In his homily, he said that the celebration of Christmas is at once a revelation of God's infinite greatness and a glimpse of His plan encompassing the whole universe and world history, while also a revelation of our own weakness and dignity.

Cardinal Peter Erdo (Photo: MTI/Attila Kovacs)

Christmas is a joyful celebration, the cardinal pointed out, also  because it places man in the context of divine life.

In his Christmas homily, Cardinal Erdo said, 

Our words stem from our thinking. We formulate our ideas and plans in order to make them come true. We design buildings, draw up contracts, give orders and requests, and we greet each other. The idea, the thought, the words that live in our souls, even the words that are spoken, are not the same as our actions. So first the idea, the plan, the word is born in our soul, and only after can it become a visible action, a work, a creation.

In Genesis we read, "God said, 'Let there be ... and there was'. The heavens and the earth, the universe, were made, and man was made, and history began. All this came about through his Holy Son and the Word. As St John says: "All things were made by Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." Although the created world is the creation of the entire Holy Trinity, the Word has a special role in creation. But the plan of God's love, the vast divine vision, is not limited to the creation of the material world; through the Word, angels were made: all things visible and invisible. Through Him man was made, and through Him the story of the salvation of mankind will unfold until the end of time, when God will gather all things together in Christ.

So the eternal plan and Word of God contains the plan of our salvation.

That is why it is good news and why the good news of the birth of Christ is the gospel. Because the Word became flesh, the second Person of God, and the Word who bears the divine plan of creation and redemption, became man. This manifestation of God's love is practically incomprehensible to us. Not only is our God an infinitely powerful creator, director and planner, but He loves us so much that He is in solidarity with us and becomes man for us. God became man so that we might have life and have it abundantly, so that He might open for us the way to eternal happiness, to salvation,

the cardinal stressed.

The Basilica in Esztergom, Hungary (Photo by MTI/Attila Kovacs)

God comes to us, Peter Erdo added, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son goes to his younger son who is returning home, to embrace us and lift us into His House, into the fullness of His eternal life.

The celebration of Christmas is thus both a revelation of God's infinite greatness, a glimpse of His plan encompassing the whole universe and world history, and at the same time a revelation of our own weakness and our own dignity.

For we humans are unique creatures if God takes upon himself our nature and calls us into the richness of His life. We must also learn from God who man is. Jesus reveals to us the true nature and vocation of man. That is why Christmas is truly a joyful celebration, because it places man in the context of divine life. It reminds us of the meaning and value of the life of each individual and of all humanity," the Kurír quoted from the cardinal's homily.

Cover photo: Cardinal Peter Erdo, Primate of Hungary  (Photo: MTI/Attila Kovacs)