Message by Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna
This Christmas, perhaps the most meaningful gift we can offer one another is not something wrapped, posted, or uploaded – but time, attention, compassion, and presence, says Archbishop Charles Scicluna.
At Christmas, Christians celebrate the birth of a child. But this is no ordinary birth. The Nativity proclaims a startling truth: God chose not to send a message, a signal, or an abstract idea. God’s gift to us was presence. Emmanuel entered human history not virtually – but physically, vulnerably and personally. To be with us.
That truth has something urgent to say to us today, in a society saturated with screens, notifications and constant digital noise. Never before have we been so connected, and, yet, never before have so many felt so alone.
Social media and digital communication are not enemies. They have brought families closer across distance, sustained relationships – especially during the COVID pandemic – and allowed voices to be heard that might otherwise have remained silent. Many of us are grateful for the ways technology helps us stay in touch, especially with loved ones abroad, the sick, the elderly, or those deprived of freedom.
Yet, Christmas invites us to pause and ask an uncomfortable question: Are these tools truly bringing us closer or are they quietly replacing something essential?
We see it every day. Families gathered around the same table, each person absorbed in their own device. Friends meeting in cafés while scrolling endlessly, barely exchanging glances. Conversations that once required courage and empathy now reduced to comments typed from behind the safety of anonymity – often harsher, colder and more cruel than words ever spoken face to face.
The paradox is striking. We communicate more but encounter one another less.
The Christmas story reminds us that real communication requires presence. God did not redeem humanity through distant transmission. He became flesh. He allowed himself to be seen, touched, held, rejected and, ultimately, crucified. Love, in its deepest sense, is always embodied.
No social media platform can replace the power of a look exchanged, a hand held, a shared silence, or a word spoken with compassion. These human gestures are not sentimental luxuries; they are indispensable to our well-being and our humanity.
This Christmas, let us dare to look up from our screens
This Christmas, perhaps the most meaningful gift we can offer one another is not something wrapped, posted, or uploaded – but time, attention, compassion and presence. Time spent without distractions. Attention given fully, not divided between a conversation and a screen. Presence that says, “You matter enough for me to be here”.
Silence, too, has a role. In a world of constant alerts and endless content, remaining tight lipped can feel uncomfortable, even threatening. Yet, it is often in silence that clarity returns, that hearts settle and that we rediscover what truly matters. Stepping away, even briefly, from the relentless pull of digital life can restore peace, perspective and inner freedom.
This reflection becomes even more urgent as we stand at the threshold of a new technological era shaped by artificial intelligence. AI promises efficiency, speed and convenience. But it also raises profound questions about truth. Not everything we see or hear online is real. Images can be manipulated, voices fabricated, narratives distorted. Without discernment, we risk mistaking illusion for reality.
Jesus’s words remain deeply relevant: “The truth will set you free.” Truth is not only something we consume; it is something we seek, protect and live by. When technology serves truth, dignity and love, it becomes a blessing. When it distorts reality or dehumanises others, it enslaves rather than liberates.
Christmas calls us back to charity in communication: to speak with respect, to listen with empathy and to remember that behind every profile there is a human face. The anonymity of digital platforms must never excuse the loss of kindness.
For those who cannot gather physically – migrants, the hospitalised, the imprisoned – digital communication remains a lifeline and rightly so. The challenge is not to abandon technology but to put it back in its proper place: as a tool that serves human encounter, not a substitute for it.
At its heart, Christmas is about encounter: God with humanity, and humanity with one another. If Emmanuel is truly “God with us”, then our response must be to be truly present to one another.
This Christmas, let us dare to look up from our screens. Let us reclaim the joy of real presence. In doing so, we may rediscover not only one another but also the peace, courage and hope that this season promises.
✠ Charles Jude Scicluna
Archbishop of Malta
This article was first published in The Times of Malta on 21 December 2025
