圖片：Archdiocese of Toronto

【鹽與光傳媒資訊】2025年12月24日，天主教多倫多總教區總主教里奧樞機發布2025年聖誕文告。他強調，藉著主基督降生成人，我們與天主的關係已徹底改變，我們不再只是受造物，而是祂所愛的子女，被召分享祂的神聖生命。

天主教多倫多總教區總主教里奧樞機
2025年聖誕文告

2025年12月25日

親愛的弟兄姊妹們：

讚美耶穌基督！並向你們及你們的親人致以衷心的聖誕祝福。

每一年，救主耶穌基督的誕生，都邀請我們更深入地默觀降生奧蹟的真正意義，再次省思天主之愛的深奧，並因著耶穌的教導與榜樣，更新我們服事弟兄姊妹的方式，甚至尋找全新的途徑。

降生奧蹟的奇妙——天主在耶穌內成為人——早在九個月前，於天使報喜之時，已由總領天使加俾額爾宣告，如今則在默西亞的誕生中得以圓滿實現。正如聖史若望所深刻表達的：「聖言成了血肉，寄居在我們中間」（若 1:14）。自此，天地永遠結合，構成我們希望的根基，因為那位愛我們的天主，如今已永遠與人類結合。

今年，教會正在慶祝聖年——禧年，這是一個充滿恩寵、寬恕與更新的年份；在此背景下，白冷城的光芒顯得格外深遠而豐富意義。耶穌的誕生，可被視為第一個、也是永恆的禧年。這是天主慈悲的偉大宣告：在其中，真正的自由得以實現，寬恕洋溢充盈，人與天主的關係得以永遠修復。因此，聖誕節不僅是一個我們慶祝的節日，更是一項我們被召進入、親身經驗的奧蹟。

我們懷著希望而生活，因為白冷的事件——基督降生於我們中間——不只是溫柔的畫面，而是救贖的保證：天主的忠信有一個名字——耶穌。從馬槽到祭台，從白冷到我們的家庭、堂區與各個團體，天主的臨在並非遙遠過去的回憶，而是此時此地、真實活著的臨在。這臨在始終派遣我們作門徒、作傳教士，去宣告：「天主的救贖」——這正是「耶穌」之名的意義。

作為希望的朝聖者，我們在世界中為天主的愛與慈悲作證，並期待有一天在祂永恆的國度中，與祂永遠共融。基督徒並不是向世界提出一種新的意識形態、理論或哲學，而是揭示一個新的現實：天主與我們同在，而祂對我們的慈悲永存不息。藉著降生成人，我們與天主的關係已徹底改變，我們不再只是受造物，而是祂所愛的子女，被召分享祂的神聖生命。

「白冷」（Bethlehem，希伯來文 beit lehem，意為「麵包之家」）這個名字，為我們開啟了一條深刻的神學與靈修之路，將天主的生命、我們的生命，以及至聖感恩祭緊密相連。事實上，從一開始，那份屬於天主本體的愛，已在馬槽中取了血肉，並有一天將安放於彌撒的祭台之上。

的確，只要我們明白聖體聖事是「未來光榮的保証」（參閱《天主教教理》1402–1405），我們便能看見聖誕奧蹟在聖體中得以延續。藉著這奧蹟，我們既紀念基督首次在白冷以血肉降臨，也期待祂最終光榮的再來——這正是基督徒希望中「已然，尚未」的奧祕（參閱《天主教教理》1818）。

因此，每一次我們舉行感恩祭，希望的視野便在我們眼前敞開：始於白冷的，繼續在祭台上，並將在永恆中的天上盛宴裡圓滿實現。聖體不僅讓我們注視天主曾經來臨之處，也指引我們祂正帶領我們前往的方向。

在每一台彌撒中，那曾在聖母瑪利亞心中與胎中成了血肉的同一位聖言，如今再次臨在於我們中間——以聖事的方式。那曾被聖母懷抱的同一位耶穌，如今在謙卑的餅酒形象下，託付給我們。那曾選擇馬槽向世界顯示自己的神聖謙卑，如今並直到祂再來之前，仍選擇彌撒中的犧牲祭台。

那曾臨到牧羊人與陌生人的慈悲，如今也臨到我們每一個人。在聖體中，降生奧蹟不只是被紀念，而是被更新、被實現、被賜予眾人。那曾親近我們、行走在我們中間、教導我們的天主，如今進入我們內，藉著聖體共融居住在我們心中。聖體是天主親近不息的活標記。

當我們在堂區與團體中圍繞祭台舉行彌撒時，我們被引入與白冷馬槽前聚集的牧羊人同一個奧蹟。我們同樣帶著自己的貧乏而來——帶著恐懼、失敗、對意義的渴求、希望、夢想與最深的渴望——並發現基督正在等待我們，因為祂按著名字、親自愛著我們。

對亞西西的聖方濟各而言，馬棚成了聖所，飼槽成了生命之桌，而聖體聖事在主誕中已被預示（參閱：Thomas of Celano, Book 1 Life of St Francis, 85:469; St Cyril of Alexandria, Sermon I, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 2:1-7）。

今年聖誕，讓我們再次為帶來和平的聖嬰耶穌騰出空間。願我們的家庭成為愛與理解的避風港；我們的堂區成為接納與關懷之地；我們的社區成為憐憫與服務的學校；而我們的心，成為轉化慈悲的帳幕。

聖言仍然成為血肉——在每一次信德的行動中、每一個愛的舉動中、每一台主日感恩祭中——並派遣我們出去，藉著彼此服務而事奉天主。

願這神聖的節期，在我們內更新那份被愛、歸屬的喜樂，並賜予我們勇氣，將這份愛分享給天主放在我們生命道路上的每一個人。願天主在這個聖誕節期，豐厚而有力地降福你們與你們的家人。

+里奧樞機

天主教多倫多總教區

25 December 2025
Message for Christmas

His Eminence Frank Cardinal Leo
Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto

My dear brothers and sisters,

Praised be Jesus Christ and Merry Christmas to you and to your loved ones.

Each year the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ invites us to delve deeper into the true meaning of the Incarnation, to ponder anew the mystery of God’s love, and to renew or even seek new ways to serve our brothers and sisters because of Jesus and his teaching and example. The wonders of the Incarnation – God becoming man in Jesus – were first announced by the Archangel Gabriel nine months earlier at the Annunciation and are now fulfilled in the birth of the Messiah and as St John the Evangelist describes so eloquently, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). Heaven and earth are joined forever giving rise to the foundation of our hope because God, who loves us, is now united to humanity forever.

This year, as the Church celebrates a Holy Year, the Jubilee – a year of grace, forgiveness, and renewal – the light of Bethlehem shines with renewed meaning. The birth of Jesus can be seen as the first and perpetual Jubilee. It is God’s great proclamation of mercy: where true freedom is realized, forgiveness abounds, and our relationship with God is restored forever. For this reason, Christmas is not only a feast we celebrate but a mystery we are called to enter into and experience. We live in hope because the Bethlehem event – Christ being born among us – is not simply a scene of tenderness but the pledge of redemption: God’s faithfulness has a name – Jesus. From the manger to the altar, from Bethlehem to our families, parishes and different communities, God’s nearness is not a mere memory of a long-ago event, far, far away but a living presence here among us, now. And his presence always sends us forth as disciples and missionaries to proclaim, “God saves”, which is the very meaning of the name of Jesus.

As Pilgrims of Hope, we live in this world witnessing to the love and mercy of God, looking forward to the day when we will be with God forever in his eternal Kingdom. As Christians we do not offer the world a new ideology, theory, or philosophy. Rather, we reveal a new reality: that God is with us, and his mercy for us endures forever. With the Incarnation the way we relate to God has changed, we are no longer merely creatures, but his beloved children called to share in his divine life.

The name “Bethlehem” (beit lehem) literally “house of bread” offers us a rich theological and spiritual connection of God’s life, our life and the holy Eucharist. Indeed, from the beginning, the same love which is the Godhead, now lays in the manger in the flesh and would one day be placed upon the altar at Mass. Truly, the mystery of Christmas finds its continuation in the Eucharist insofar as we understand the Eucharist to be the promise of our future glory (cf. CCC 1402-1405). By this mystery we recall both Christ’s first coming in Bethlehem in flesh and anticipate his final return in glory – the “already and not yet” of Christian hope (cf. CCC 1818). As such, each time we celebrate the holy Eucharist, the horizon of hope opens before us. What began in Bethlehem continues on the altar and will be fulfilled in the heavenly banquet in eternity. The Eucharist keeps our eyes fixed not only on where God has come, but where he is leading us.

At every Mass, the same Divine Word that was made flesh in Our Lady’s heart and womb way back many years ago, becomes present to us again – but now sacramentally. The same Jesus whom Mother Mary held in her arms is now entrusted to us under the humble signs of bread and wine. The same divine humility that chose the manger to show himself to the world, chooses now and until his return the altar of sacrifice at Mass. The same mercy that came to shepherds and strangers comes to each and every one of us. In the Eucharist, the Incarnation is not just remembered but renewed, made present, and given to all. The God who once drew near to us, walked among us, and taught us, is now given to us to dwell within us in holy communion. The Eucharist is the living sign that God’s nearness endures. When we gather around the altar in our parishes and communities for Mass, we are drawn into the same mystery that gathered shepherds around the crib in Bethlehem. We, too, come in our poverty – carrying our fears, our failures, our hunger for meaning, our hopes, dreams and deepest desires – and we find that Christ is waiting for us, because he loves us personally and by name. For St. Francis of Assisi, the stable becomes the sanctuary, the feeding trough becomes the table of life, and the Eucharist is foreshadowed at the Nativity. (Thomas of Celano, Book 1 Life of St Francis, 85:469; St Cyril of Alexandria, Sermon I, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 2:1-7).

This Christmas, let us make room again for the Child Jesus who comes with peace. Let our families be havens of love and understanding; our parishes be places of welcome and care; our communities become schools of compassion and outreach; and our hearts tabernacles of transforming mercy. The Word still becomes flesh – in every act of faith, every gesture of love, every Sunday Eucharist – and then sends us forth to serve God by serving one another. May this holy season renew in us the joy of belonging and being loved and the courage to share that love with those the Lord puts on our path. God bless you and your family abundantly and powerfully this Christmas season.

來源：天主教多倫多總教區