(This story is updated to include an account of Cardinal Gregory’s Christmas Day Mass at the National Shrine.)

At Masses on Christmas Day and on Christmas Eve in Washington, D.C., Cardinal Wilton Gregory said the Nativity story reminds people today that Christ desires to live in their hearts and that they share His love with others at all stages of life.

At noon on Christmas Day Dec. 25, Washington’s archbishop celebrated a Mass for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, after he had celebrated a 10 p.m. Mass the night before on Christmas Eve at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.

During his homily at the Christmas Day Mass at the National Shrine, Cardinal Gregory noted that “Christmas and Calvary really tell a variation on the same story.”

“This child who 2,000 years ago was born in a stable and as a crucified man will need to borrow another man’s tomb never seems to have a place to call His own,” the cardinal said. “From the beginning to the end, Jesus lacks a place wherein to dwell. And herein is the most profound lesson of Christmas: Christ desires to live within our hearts – yours and mine – within each one of us.”

Cardinal Gregory touched his heart as he said those words, and added, “Jesus, who this day is born for us and eventually will die for us, wants only to live within us and therefore to allow all of us to live more fully because of Him.”

Emphasizing that Jesus wants to live in people’s hearts and transform them, the cardinal said,  “Jesus cares nothing about having a warm home in which to be born; He wants to live in our families. Jesus does not care if He has no grave wherein to be lain, He wants only to free our hearts from the death of hatred, envy, bigotry, violence, injustice, racism and all those human faults and sins that keep us fastened to death rather than freed for life.”

Reflecting on how the gift of God’s love through the birth of Jesus fills the world with joy, hope and peace on Christmas, Cardinal Gregory noted how people crowd churches that day with hearts filled with gratitude, and families share a common meal and offer “heartfelt prayers of thanks for the gift of being a family.” 

The cardinal said Christmas is also a time when “enemies, warring nations, hostile neighbors (and) political foes may even halt their aggression this day out of respect for the Prince of Peace,” and he prayed that might be the case in war-torn Ukraine.

As he concluded his Christmas Day homily during the Mass at the National Shrine, Cardinal Gregory said, “Christ has been born to bring us that perfect peace for which we have been destined. May your homes be bright and joyful this Christmas and may your hearts be open to Jesus who wants to dwell only therein. God always prefers to live in the midst of the people that He loves. May God dwell in your home and in your hearts throughout this coming year – He very much desires that as His dwelling place.”

After the cardinal’s homily at the National Shrine’s Christmas Mass, the intercessions included prayers that the celebration of the Lord’s birth will inspire people to live the Gospel and share their faith with others. Prayers were also offered for government leaders, that they might respect the unborn, refugees, religious freedom and the sanctity of marriage, and that people will devote their lives to serving the marginalized and poor.

The concelebrants at the Christmas Day Mass included Msgr. Walter Rossi, the basilica’s rector, and the liturgy was broadcast on EWTN and livestreamed on the basilica’s website. The music, which included O Come All Ye Faithful as the processional hymn at the beginning of Mass and Joy to the World as the recessional carol, was led by the Choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine.

During the Christmas Eve Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory said the celebration of the birth of Jesus reminds people today to love Christ and one another at all stages of life.

“Christmas happens to be a singular moment when the entire world pauses to honor that baby boy born in Bethlehem, but Christmas is a short-lived feast, almost as brief as infancy itself. This holy day therefore has to point to the days that follow Christmas, during which we must also embrace and accept each other as precious in God’s eyes,” Cardinal Gregory said in his homily.

The cardinal noted that, “As this baby boy grows, he reminds us at each stage of his development into manhood, that he is to be loved, and that those who believe in him are called to love each other as an expression of our love for him.”

Washington’s archbishop began the late evening Mass for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord by processing to a side chapel in the cathedral and blessing the manger scene with holy water and incense.

“When we look upon these figures, the Christmas gospel story comes alive, and we are moved to rejoice in the incarnation of the Son of God,” Cardinal Gregory said, adding that Jesus after his humble birth brings joy, peace, mercy and love to the lives of people.

Before the Mass began, the cathedral’s Schola Cantorum choir directed by Thomas Stehle sang a stirring range of hymns in a musical prelude, accompanied by Paul Hardy on the organ and by the Madrid String Quartet.

Then the choir led the congregation in the joyful entrance hymn Adeste Fidelis/O Come, All Ye Faithful/Venid, Fieles Todos sung in Latin, English and Spanish.

The bilingual Mass featured readings, prayers and hymns in English and Spanish. Hundreds of people attended the 10 p.m. liturgy in person, while people throughout the Washington area and across the country watched it via the livestream.

The first reading from Isaiah 9:1-6 recited in English included the passage, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light… For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.”

Later the Gospel reading from Luke 2:1-14 that was proclaimed in English and Spanish recounted the Nativity story, with the angel telling the shepherds: “Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
 and lying in a manger.”

In his homily, Cardinal Gregory tied the story of Jesus’s birth to how “everyone loves a baby.” He pointed out the delight that parents and grandparents have with newborns, and the challenges that come as they later grow into toddlers and teenagers.

“Babies do mature, and they trade in that almost universal charm for the adult characteristics that we all know so well,” the cardinal said, adding, “Nevertheless, everyone loves a baby, because babies provoke hope and optimism, and they remind us all of an innocence that has inevitably escaped from all of our lives.”

Washington’s archbishop noted how “the humble baby boy born 2,000 years ago… renews life itself if we learn to love him in all of the various stages of his growth and development.”

Cardinal Gregory pointed out how Jesus in his manhood preached a Gospel that challenged religious authorities in his time and continues to challenge people today, and Christ later was bloodied and beaten and endured a cruel death. The cardinal said people are called to love Jesus not just as a baby, but through all the stages of his life, and in turn share that love with others, especially those in need.

“While it may be easy to love a baby, the baby born in Bethlehem today invites us not just to love him, but to love one another in all of the other moments that inevitably follow infancy,” the cardinal said.

As he concluded his homily, Cardinal Gregory noted, “It’s easy to love a baby, but much more challenging to love those who are no longer babies but also cherished in the heart of the eternal Father of that baby born 2,000 years ago, to remind us all of that simple truth. We will miss the deepest meaning of Christmas if we think it’s only about loving a baby boy born 2,000 years ago, for Christmas is just the beginning of a love that we must have not only for this baby, but for all those that this baby would eventually call the least of his sisters and brothers, and for all those of us who stand in awe looking at an infant who offers hope and joy for all the world to behold.”

The concelebrants at the Mass included Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, the cathedral’s rector; Father John Benson, a parochial vicar at St. Matthew’s; and Father John Hurley, a retired priest in residence there.

The prayers of the faithful, also offered in English and Spanish, included prayers for the Church, the people of God, to joyfully announce the birth of Christ, and prayers for world peace, including in Ukraine, and that people may come to know Jesus, the prince of peace.

Other Christmas music at the Mass included the offertory song by Handel, “For Unto Us a Child is Born.” The Communion hymn Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Se Oye un Son en Alta Esfera in English and Spanish was followed by Silent Night/Noche de Paz.

After Cardinal Gregory offered a final blessing at the Christmas Eve Mass, the choir and congregation sang Joy to the World/Al Mundo Paz.