Custodians of the Light

Homily of Most Rev. Charles John Brown, D.D., Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines

December 21, 2025 | Seventh Day of Simbang Gabi

Mary, Mother of Hope Chapel,  Landmark, Makati City

They shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:23).

God is truly with us!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

For me as the Apostolic Nuncio here in the Philippines, it makes me very happy to be with all of you this evening, here in Mary, Mother of Hope Chapel, in The Landmark Makati. I'm very grateful to Msgr. Reginald R. Malicdem, the Vicar General and Moderator Curiae of the Archdiocese of Manila, for having invited me.

I also want to thank The Landmark Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Teddy King and his wife, Linda; and of course, The Landmark Senior Vice President, Michelle King, for having invited me to be with all of you this evening, here in this beautiful chapel, Mary, Mother of Hope.

Indeed, God is with us, and our hearts are filled with hope. Today is the Seventh Day of Simbang Gabi. Only two more Simbang Gabi Masses, and you will have made it to Christmas Eve. I pray during this Mass, for all of your intentions, everything that you're praying for, I bring to the altar this evening, on this Seventh Day of Simbang Gabi, only two more.

Today is also, as you heard, the Fourth Sunday of Advent. What is the theme for this Fourth Sunday of Advent? The theme is the idea that is expressed in the words in Tagalog, in Filipino, Simbang Gabi, which we could translate into English as “night worship” or “praying at night”. What does it mean? It means we're preparing for Christmas at “night”. We're preparing in the darkness for the coming of Light. Gabi, night.

We're praying at night because we're waiting for the coming of Light.

Radiant Dawn

In a moment, when I finish my short homily, we will all say, in the words of The Creed, that we “believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God…” then we say, “Light from Light.” Jesus is Light from Light. “Jesus is the Light of the world” (Jn. 8:12). “The true light”, as Saint John says in his Gospel, “which gives light to everyone, which is coming into the world” (Jn. 1:9).

All the priests in the entire Catholic Church this evening, when they pray their evening prayer, their Vespers, for the Antiphon of the Magnificat, they have an Antiphon which says, “O Oriens…” (O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis). In English, “O, Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light: come, shine on those who dwell in darkness, and the shadow of death.” So, we're saying now in the Simbang Gabi, to the Light “Come!”. We want the Light, the true Light who is coming into the world.

You know, brothers and sisters? Even nature around us is reflecting the mysteries of our Catholic faith. Creation. What do I mean? Tonight, December 21 is the longest night of the year. There's more darkness tonight than any day in the entire year. Tomorrow night will be slightly shorter. Tomorrow's day will be slightly longer. At this moment, we're at the moment in which the days are the shortest, the night is the longest. Then after tomorrow, the light begins to grow stronger as we celebrate Christmas. So, nature all around us is reflecting in the Northern Hemisphere the mystery of our Catholic faith. This idea of light shining in the darkness. Light that overcomes the darkness.

The Hidden Light

That light, brothers and sisters, at this moment, we can say, a few days before Christmas, that Light of the world is enclosed, is hidden in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It's hidden in her womb, that light.

We heard in the Gospel (Matthew 1:18-24) how Saint Joseph, because of the dream that he had, realizes through faith, and believes in the miracle that has taken place in Mary. By faith, he believes in the hidden light in the womb of Mary. Saint Joseph believes in the words that Mary heard from the Archangel Gabriel. When the angel Gabriel said to Mary back on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

So, Saint Joseph, who, when he first heard that Mary was pregnant, was troubled and confused, and uncertain about what to do, then he had that dream. That dream reassures him. “Believe in the Light. Believe that God can do everything, and God can even make your fiancé, Mary, a virgin, pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Joseph believes and embraces Mary, takes care of Mary, takes care of that Light hidden in her womb.

Now, four days before Christmas, we can think about Mary and Joseph. They will have left Nazareth. They're on their way, walking slowly from Nazareth all the way down through Israel, to where Bethlehem. To where, on Christmas Eve, Jesus will be born. That Light is traveling, the hidden Light, that Light enclosed in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary and Joseph are custodians of that light. They travelled to Bethlehem. There's three of them traveling: Mary, Joseph and the little baby Jesus in her womb, that hidden Light.

You know? At the same moment, there are another three people traveling in a different place, far away, who have also seen a Light. Who am I thinking of? The three wise men, the three kings. They're traveling also following a Light, a star shining in the darkness (Matthew 2:1-12). An image of that Light that is Jesus, shining in the night. They're walking from the East, going towards Bethlehem, and they, of course, will arrive on January 6. Everyone following this hidden Light, the Light has come into the world.

Children of the Light

But you know? Saint John, in his Gospel, tells us that the “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). This is true even in our own time. There is a preference among some for darkness over light, for sin over grace, for lies over truth, for corruption over honesty. We see that around us. The preference for darkness. In a sense, they are fleeing [from] the light, because they know that the light will shine and show forth everything. The light reveals and shows everything. Jesus reveals everything.

So, we as Catholic Christians need to be children of the light (1 Thes. 5:5), because we are the brothers and sisters of Jesus. We are redeemed by that Light. That Light comes into us at baptism. In fact, when we're baptized, our godparents received a candle, which is an image of the Light of Christ, that Light of grace, which is shining in us as Christians.

We need to resist the darkness around us. We need to shine in our own way, whatever our vocation is. Whether you’re a mother or a father of a family, whether you’re a student at university or in high school, we need to shine with the Light of Christ. We need to allow that Light to be diffused around us.

The Lesson from a Parol (Christmas Lantern)

I love the parols that we have. We have one here, a beautiful parol. A parol is an interesting, beautiful image because it shines with an interior light. There's a light inside the parol that makes it radiant. That's an image of what we need to be by God's grace. By receiving the sacraments, by receiving the Bread of Life, we begin to shine. We begin to be radiant with Jesus. We begin to be like Jesus in our own small, imperfect way. We can be a light in the darkness, a light shining, a light resisting the darkness of this world.

The saints are usually portrayed with a halo. Right? A halo above their head. That's a way of artistically depicting light coming from the saints. The saints are people who carry that light, which is Jesus.

During Simbang Gabi we pray in darkness. Gabi, meaning night. We pray for the coming of the Light on December 24th, on Christmas Eve. We pray that Light will enter into us and change our lives, and give us the strength to live in this world as holy and committed Catholic Christians.

But we need to embrace that Light, not only for nine days during Simbang Gabi, but every Sunday, 52 times a year—receiving the Light of Christ in the preaching of the Gospel, and in the Bread of Life, which gives us light.

Conclusion and Exhortations

So, my dear brothers and sisters, for me as the Papal Nuncio, it gives me so much joy to be with you on this longest night of the Church year, in which we celebrate the coming of Light, that Light which is Jesus, that Light which enlightens us, that Light which is the Light of the world.

We ask Mama Mary to intercede for each and every one of you.

I ask all of you, as I always do, to remember to pray for Pope Leo XIV, our newly elected Holy Father, celebrating his first Christmas in Rome this Christmas. Let's pray for him also during this Mass.

Let me remind you that I pray for all of your intentions, all of your special Simbang Gabi intentions, as I offer the Mass this evening.

God bless you! 

Happy seventh day of Simbang Gabi!