Christmas Blessings

Dec 24, 2014 | 0 comments

By Father David Hasser.

Christmas blessings to you all! What a day of joy! With all of God’s promise from the beginning, today begins the age of joy as the world sees His greatest promises come to life! This great day of celebration gives flesh to the hope that we have, allows faith to grow and charity to be restored.

By His coming among us, being with us, Emmanuel the Christ Child gives us hope that we are wed to God. We look at the Star of Bethlehem, and that quintessential light hangs over the Light Himself and leads us to Him. Knowing about THAT star, every star in the sky reminds us of Him and of the reality of our Communion with Him. Every candle light reminds us of Him. The starry Christmas tree lights in the dark remind us of Him. It all reminds us that our hearts are made by and for God Who completely outshines the current creation. His star and all of the stars remind us that we can see as far as Heaven, beyond the limitations we might feel around us. We are reminded that we can make the journey along the narrow path with the Christ Child at our side. We walk to the Heavenly Emmaus speaking with the Lord along the way and entering into Him in every Eucharist. The ornaments that we fondly place upon the tree are memories of people or experiences, and we unite them with the evergreen tree of life and light, with Jesus, with those starry lights of hope. The wonderful compilation of tree, ornaments, lights, the manger, the Christ Child…it all inspires faith in our heart. It all is a public witness of our faith and our hope. It all reminds us to give freely of the charity that we have received. This majestic moment is not a dream; it is a real moment in history, one small light that once lit has illuminated the entire world and has breathed life back into our souls.

When Jesus was born nine months after He took flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, love was revealed. He has moved from resting in His Immaculate Mother to resting in a manger in the hearts of us all. As He rests here and we gaze upon Him, I invite you to contemplate and adore Him in mystery. We know what happens next in His life for thirty-three years. As we celebrate this day of His birth, our eyes can already see the rest of His life with us, and yet our hearts await Him still more. Come, let us adore Him!