 | Christmas Makes Life Merry When some new possibility for your life stirs in you, something heretofore unknown and unfamiliar, Jesus is born. It is Christmas. When suddenly you realize that you can open your heart in love, when you have kept it closed for years out of fear, it is Christmas. When you consider how to spend your time, and you go to a hospital to visit the sick, Jesus is born and it is Christmas. Christmas is an archetypal event, deep within, and outside of history. Christmas is a mystery: It is not a puzzle to be figured out but a mysterious happening that transfigures life and gives it meaning. It makes life merry and worthy of our complete devotion. —from the book The Soul of Christmas | †Quote "God has done everything; he has done the impossible: he was made flesh. His all-powerful love has accomplished something which surpasses all human understanding: the Infinite has become a child, has entered the human family. And yet, this same God cannot enter my heart unless I open the door to him."
— Pope Benedict XVI † Meditation of the Day
"What worthy return can we make for so great a condescension? The One Only-begotten God, ineffably born of God, entered the Virgin's womb and grew and took the frame of poor humanity. He who upholds the universe, within whom and through whom are all things, was brought forth by common childbirth. He at whose voice archangels and angels tremble, and heaven and earth and all the elements of this world are melted, was heard in childish wailing. The Invisible and Incomprehensible, whom sight and feeling and touch cannot measure, was wrapped in a cradle."
— St. Hilary of Poitiers, p. 364
An Excerpt From † Verse of the Day "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11 |  click to read more | | Saints Adam & Eve Adam and Eve, the first man and woman created by God as recounted in the Old Testament book of Genesis, are the father and mother of all humanity. Through their willful disobedience to the command of God, sin came into the world. To redeem mankind which was thereby separated from the perfect communion with the Holy Trinity for which they were created, God became man, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and died on a Cross. Jesus is the New Adam, and Mary is the New Eve. Christian tradition recognizes that Adam and Eve were rescued by Christ in virtue of His death, burial, and resurrection, and are with God and the saints in heaven. Their feast day is celebrated together on December 24th. | The Nativity of the Lord – Christmas Mass During the Night Lectionary: 14
Reading 1 Is 9:1-6 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for flames.
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.
His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
from David's throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
by judgment and justice,
both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this! Responsorial Psalm
Ps 96: 1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13.
R. (Lk 2:11) Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
R. Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.
R. Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.
They shall exult before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
R. Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord. Reading 2 Ti 2:11-14 Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of our great God
and savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good. Alleluia Lk 2:10-11 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I proclaim to you good news of great joy:
today a Savior is born for us,
Christ the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 2:1-14 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that the whole world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment,
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth
to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
"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."
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." | Meditation: John 1:1-18 The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) (Solemnity) The Word became flesh. . . . , and we saw his glory. (John 1:14) It's true. "No one has ever seen God" (John 1:18). But today, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we hear that "the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory" (1:14). Today, we see Jesus, who is "the very imprint" of God's being (Hebrews 1:3). So as we celebrate Christmas, let's take a moment to behold the glory of the Lord. We can see God's glory if we look through the eyes of the apostles as they followed Jesus. They saw him heal sick people, multiply food, and change water into wine. They saw him raise people from the dead. They saw him be transfigured—as "his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light" (Matthew 17:2). They even saw him risen in glory on Easter Sunday. We can see God's glory through special Marian apparitions, like at Lourdes, Fatima, and Guadalupe. These apparitions displayed God's glory through special flowers, a dancing sun, and thousands of healings and conversions. But perhaps the best way for us to see the glory of the Lord is by gazing on the child in the manger. When we take the time to look at the manger scene, we cannot help but be cut to the heart by what we see. The humility of a God who emptied himself and came among us so that he could raise us up displays the glory of God more than all the miracles and all the apparitions. Why? Because the manger is not about displays of power; it's about love. All the miraculous works of God would count for nothing if they didn't reveal a loving God. So this Christmas Day, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, let's fix our eyes on the manger and ask the Spirit to show us "the glory of God on the face of Christ"—the glory of his love and mercy (2 Corinthians 4:6). "Jesus, open my eyes so that I can see your glory in the precious baby in the manger." Isaiah 52:7-10
Psalm 98:1-6
Hebrews 1:1-6 | 2 cents :
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light".
Here, it is revealed, people who saw a great light. Who was it? Mary? Joseph? The Shepherds? All of the above? Was Mary seeking light? Yes. Joseph too. And the Shepherds? How is it that the shepherds get light and get almost frightened to death? The children at Fatima were shepherd children. But, they were prayerful children. And the light shows the way to Jesus. The angels all point to Jesus from the beginning of time. It's all culminating to Jesus. Not to presents, but the real present, the PRESENCE OF CHRIST JESUS LORD AND SAVIOR! AMEN? | Let us pray: "Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord. Announce his salvation, day after day. Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds." Once, years and years ago, at confession, the priest told me for penance to go and live every day as if it were Christmas. WHAAAA?? Christmas takes a tremendous amount of work! Lots and lots of preparation, right? Lights, gifts, plans, food, and on and on. How can you do Christmas every SINGLE DAY!! LOL. I was flabbergasted. But, it's not about the glitter and glamour at all. My daily Christmas is daily Mass and evangelization. Every mass we remember in celebration in the creed about how our Lord was born of the Virgin Mary. And the Holy Spirit, the giver of life. Amen? We are to announce DAILY His salvation. Be like angels and tell of His glory among all peoples. | In the Holy Gospel of the solemnity of the vigil of CHRIST-Mass we heard , "....the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." The inns were crowded. The people Joseph knew didn't recognize him and wouldn't really let him stay. Joseph, a poor beggar came to Mary dejected and rejected. Sister Anne Emmerich said that Mary comforted poor St. Joseph, as she awaited patiently for him, even though she was about to be in labor. A failure to recognize the needy, is a failure to let Jesus in. This is the time like Lent, to give alms, to be charitable, to be open, to recognize the poor, to visit them, to be with them, to forgive them, to announce Jesus comes to them. This time has been one of fasting for me as well. A time for much reflection and prayer on the coming of our Lord. I went to a Christmas Mass and meal with prisoners a few days ago. One guy seemed dejected, lamenting how for the first time he felt bad not being home with his family, after years and years of prison. But we were there. I gave him a Christmas card I wrote to him. The others from that town gave them homemade food, and christmas cards. Oh they were holding on to those presents. And they let the 100 or 140 prisoners come for seconds and they all lined up for more. They told them not to come for thirds. To not be greedy. And then, they let them line up for thirds and about a third got up for more. They were enjoying the love. But first, the Love had been sacrificed and offered in the Holy Mass. I had told them on the microphone that free or not, Jesus was coming and that's all we need, in similar words. Time flew, and they had to return, now with full belly, hopefully a morsel of our love for Jesus in the forgotten. It's easy to give to those you live with. It's not easy to give to the dejected. You have to hunt for them. You have to seek...you have to pray. It takes work, much work to see Jesus. Look at the 3 wise men. Look at what it took Joseph and Mary. The work was all about faith and faithfulness.
Last night, in our Posadas, I warned everyone at the 1st house that travelling to the next house would be longer travel, and it is cold, and that I knew there were some loose dogs that would perhaps attempt to scare or bite someone. But, they all yelled they wanted to sing on the streets and go forth. OK! So off we went, immediately I began singing as we followed Mary on the donkey and Joseph at her side and angels all around, all kids dressed up. The moon lit the way. The Sun rays beaming off the moon. Blocks later, I begin to hear barking. Here we go I thought as I sung. The closer we got, the louder the barks. Sure enough a loose doberman and another dog were barking and I saw the flock of angels move to the opposite side of the street. I saw a lady go into the bushes and pulled out a huge bush stick, and she took on the side of the dogs but never looking at them, just marching with the bush stick, I thought of Mary's protection. Our crowd was never touched. Just barked at. We got to the next house safe.
Today, we have to look at Mary for protection. We must take comfort in our Mother as Jesus did. The dragon in Revelation attempted to devour her, to no avail. The Son of God would be born to defeat the dragon. This is the greatest feat of history of man. That God became a man, and for Good reason. So that our hearts would be revealed. So that the heart of God would be revealed. The Solid Truth.
"THIS IS WHO I AM.
Take it or leave it.
I too can be Human" To be human, is to be a compassionate soul for the soul's good...Salvation.
This is the night of the light.
This is the night that night gets defeated.
Be not AFRAID.
Be not afraid to love and forgive and to fall in love with mercy. JESUS I LOVE YOU AND I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO GIVE FOR CHRISTMAS, except more of my life.... for my greatest LOVE | | |
