The Bombing of Children Blasphemes Emmanuel

Gaza. Ukraine. Everywhere kids are trapped in adult wars: Christmas demands more than tidings of comfort and joy.

Dear friends —

This Advent, all paid subscribers are receiving the Letters from Leo Advent Reflection Series: a daily companion to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas — and to reckon with what his arrival demands of us, personally and publicly, in a moment of deep moral and political crisis.

It’s not too late to join us. Today’s reflection is below.

To give you a sense of what you’ll encounter, I’ve unlocked two pieces for all readers.

The first is our opening Sunday reflection, which sets the tone for the season. The second is a reflection from last week, where I wrote candidly about the isolating pain me and so many others experience during the holidays — and how Advent meets us there, not to deny the loneliness, but to reveal God’s quiet presence within it.

These reflections will continue each day through Christmas.

Letters from Leo is open to anyone who wants to be informed and inspired by our pope — and to turn that inspiration into action that leaves America and the world more just, less cold, and more alive with hope.

If you’d like to support this work during this sacred season, here are three ways you can help:

• Subscribe as a paid member to receive exclusive posts about the life and formation of Pope Leo and help sustain this newsletter.

• Donate with a one-time gift to fuel this project’s mission.

• Share this post (and Letters from Leo) with a friend who might enjoy it.

Whether you give $0, $1, or $1,000, your presence here matters — no matter your faith or your politics.

Thank you for reading. I’ll see you on the road.

“Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever.” (Psalm 72:7)

Today’s Readings

Jeremiah foretells a day when God will raise up a righteous heir of David who “shall do what is just and right” and bring his people home to live securely again. It’s a bold promise to an exiled people longing for home.

God’s answer to that hope comes in an unexpected way — not as a warrior, but as a child.

In today’s Gospel, Joseph learns that his betrothed, Mary, is pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

In a dream an angel says, “Do not be afraid” to take Mary as his wife, and Joseph obeys. The child to be born will be named Jesus and called Emmanuel — “God is with us.”

Scripture shows that hope is renewed by the birth of a child. God brings forth new life where none seemed possible — as when Elizabeth, long barren, conceived John the Baptist.

All these wonders point to the greatest gift: the Christ Child who fulfills every longing, arriving as an infant bearing God’s promise of salvation.

The child born in Bethlehem isn’t just a memory we revisit each December — he’s a living, present reality, still arriving in the places we least expect.