Saint Arnold Janssen attached great importance to the holiday of Christmas. And there is nothing strange in this fact, if we take into account that the name of the men’s congregation that he founded comes from the Word – Logos, the name that the evangelist John used to speak of the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity. And Christmas is the time when we remember the saving appearance of the Word in humanity in a special way.

Arnold Janssen’s biographers emphasize the great care that he put into preparing for Christmas in the first house of the Divine Word Missionaries in Steyl, Holland. The first biographer of the Founder, Fr. H. Fischer, an eyewitness to the life of St. Arnold, writes: “The figure of the Child destined for the manger was placed on the floor of the living room on a bed of straw and surrounded by a wreath of candles and colored lamps, and then prayers were said before it. The entire living room and the main corridors of the house were to be solemnly illuminated with lanterns. At midnight the inhabitants of the house were awakened with music by the band of the missionary brothers. They all hurried to the church, from where, amidst the singing of Christmas carols, they went to the living room to fetch the Child, to take Him in procession to the church and place Him in the manger. The youngest of the missionary disciples, dressed as an altar boy, carried an elaborate bier covered with silk. When they reached the living room, they all knelt before the statue of the incarnate Son of God. Superior General Janssen, who always presided personally at this ceremony at the mother house, recited with great emotion the prayers he had composed, beginning with this joyful acclamation:

“The goodness and mercy of our Savior God have been revealed!”

Prayers of greeting, adoration, and many requests addressed to the three Divine Persons followed. Then Fr. Janssen would carefully place the Child on the bier, and the procession, accompanied by the singing of Christmas carols, would proceed to the church, where the Child was placed in the manger. Anyone who has ever seen this elderly priest kneeling before the Child Jesus lying on the straw, who has heard his heartfelt prayers, who has contemplated his transformed face, full of piety and joy, will forever remember this extraordinary spectacle.”

However, the figure of the Child Jesus itself, although certainly beautiful and evoking tender emotions, was not the deepest source of Father Arnold’s feelings. It was simply a symbol of the mystery that he invoked in moments of study of the truths of God, of meditation on them, and of prayer. In one of his lectures, he said: “On Christmas Eve we praise God for His greatness, which is revealed in His goodness. That is why in the liturgical hymn “Glory to God in the highest” we sing: “We give you thanks, for great is Your glory.” God is good to each of His creatures. And He is exceptionally and extraordinarily good to people. He demonstrated this goodness of His in the miracle of Christianity in general, but He laid its foundation in the Incarnation. What love! What love of the Holy Spirit there must have been that created the holy humanity of Jesus from the Virgin Mary! What love of the Son, who assumed this humanity! What love of the Father, who gave His Son to humanity as man! Truly, if we think about what love is hidden in this, then, together with the Church, we must exclaim: “Today the whole world has been filled with heavenly sweetness!” If the eternal love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit has been so humbled, we must exclaim:

“The heavenly Father has placed on the forehead of humanity the kiss of love and reconciliation.”

The central meaning of missionary work is to be seen in this mystery of God who comes to earth out of love and takes on human flesh. St. Arnold often repeated a quote from the Gospel of St. John: “The true light that comes into the world enlightens every man” (Jn 1:9). Every person has a right to this good and enlightened love. Missions are a continuous effort to make the encounter between God and man possible, no matter where in the world he lives.

That is why the Divine Word Missionaries on Christmas night, following the example of their Founder, St. Arnold Janssen, pray with the following words: “Let us pray that the light that appeared over Bethlehem may also penetrate the night of the many and great nations that do not yet know Christ, so that as many people as possible who are separated from God may, through the grace of Christ, come to know and love him again. Amen.”

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Dariusz Pielak born on 30.03.1965 in Poland. In 1985 he joined the Society of the Divine Word. During the seminary he did the experience of OTP in Argentina in a community of life inserted in popular environments of Greater Buenos Aires. After finishing the seminary he worked in Spain and did a licentiate in biblical theology there. Since 2003 he has been working in Russia teaching at the seminary and attending the parish of St. Olga in Moscow. He also devotes himself to deepen the themes related to the spiritual history of Arnold Janssen.