Merry christmas
Merry Christmas
To you My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
God showed His love .John 3:16 “God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. In the Italian language, the expression amore divino could be understood in two ways. It could be understood as “love of God” (divino) or “love of wine” (di vino). Sometimes when you want to tease someone who has just fallen in love, you ask them, “Is it a question of love of God or of love of wine?” By love of God they mean genuine, disinterested love and by love of wine they mean love that is driven by pleasure-seeking and self-interest.
It is true that the Christmas season is a time of happiness, a season to be enjoyed and celebrated. But it is also true that we should always remember to whom we owe this great holyday, who should be the center of this celebration. Christmas is primarily a celebration of the birth of the Incarnate Word, the Prince of Peace. And during this season we should try to make our homes, amidst our family and our friends, a kingdom of peace more than a kingdom of wealth.
St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, who was a great saint and Doctor of the church suggests “In order for us to love God as he loves us, we remember and meditate on three simple words: CRIB, CROSS, and SACRAMENT. If we remember these three words, we will come to love God in the way we should, because each of these three words is like an arrow that points out how much God loves us.
First word: CRIB. This word reminds us of what we celebrate today: the holy feast of Christmas. Some 2000 years ago Jesus was born in Bethlehem and was laid in a manger, or in a crib, which is a kind of open box where the farmer puts food for his cattle. Mary placed her infant son in the crib she found in the stable since there was no room for them at the inn.
Jesus is the Son of God made man. He could have come to earth as a fully grown up person. But no, he came as a little baby, weak and helpless, so that we could understand that he is truly human, and so that we would know how much he wants us to love him.
Second word: CROSS...This word reminds us of what Jesus did for us after he had grown up to be a man and why he came to this world. Greater love than this no man has than that he lay down his life for his friends.. This is why St. Alphonsus repeatedly says: let us love a God who has loved us so much.
Third word: SACRAMENT. Here we mean the Eucharist, the Mass, Holy Communion, the real presence of Jesus under the form of bread and wine. Again this is a gift that shows God's infinite love for us. Here in the Eucharist, the Mass, we have God going so far as to allow himself to be present to us under the form of bread and wine. He does this so that he can remain with us in a visible, tangible form until the end of time. He does this so that he can nourish us spiritually, in much the same way that ordinary bread sustains our body. He remains in our churches and chapels under this form in the tabernacle as a prisoner of love.
Love is the best Christmas present we can give -- whether to God or to his people. The more we try to love, the better we understand the reason for and the true meaning of Christmas.......
A right Christmas includes making room for Jesus. Someone said that the Christmas story is the story of God seeking a room. The inn-keeper is a symbol of those today who have no room for Jesus. The room He seeks today is in our hearts. If our hearts and lives are filled with sin—then Christ cannot come in. This means not only sins of the flesh but sins of the disposition. Envy, hate, un-forgiveness. John declares, "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave them power to become sons of God, even to those that believe in His name which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:11-13).
As we look on baby Jesus in the manger we see that he is the answer to today’s problems. Instead of violence, in baby Jesus in the manger we see gentleness. Instead of hatred, in baby Jesus in the manger we see tenderness. Instead of selfishness, in baby Jesus in the manger we see love for us. Let us ask baby Jesus to help us to be gentle, tender and loving with those around us as he was in the manger.
“Once upon a time there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug. He wasn’t a Scrooge. He was a kind and decent person. On Christmas Eve his wife and children went to church for the midnight service. He declined to accompany them. “I’d feel like a hypocrite,” he explained. “I’d rather stay at home.” He did not understand why God became a small baby.”
Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. A few minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. It was quickly followed by another, then another.
He thought that someone must be throwing snowballs at his living room window. When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the storm. They had been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his window. “I can’t let these poor creatures lie there and freeze,” he thought. “But how can I help them?” Then he remembered the barn where the children’s pony was stabled. It would provide a warm shelter.
He put on his coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the door wide and turned on a light. But the birds didn’t come in. “Food will lure them in,” he thought. So he hurried back to the house for bread crumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a trail into the barn. To his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction - except into the warm lighted barn.
“They find me a strange and terrifying creature,” he said to himself, “and I can’t seem to think of any way to let them know they can trust me. If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety. . . .”
Just at that moment the church bells began to ring. He stood silent for a while, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. Then he sank to his knees in the snow. “Now I do understand,” he whispered. “Now I see why You had to do it.”
This is A Christmas Parable written by Louis Cassels to explain the mystery of Christmas.
Let us remember what a great mystic and poet once said: “Even if Christ should be born a thousand times over in Bethlehem, as long as he is not born in your own heart, your life shall be lost and you shall have been born to no purpose” (Angelus Silesius).
The words of the fourth century poet and mystic Ephraim of Syria seem a fitting prayer:
“At this feast of the nativity Let each person wreathe the door of her or his heart So that the Holy Spirit may delight in that door Enter in and take up occupancy there Then by the spirit we will be made holy.”
Merry Christmas to you my dear brothers and sisters may the infant Jesus fill your hearts and home with love and peace.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
To you My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
God showed His love .John 3:16 “God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. In the Italian language, the expression amore divino could be understood in two ways. It could be understood as “love of God” (divino) or “love of wine” (di vino). Sometimes when you want to tease someone who has just fallen in love, you ask them, “Is it a question of love of God or of love of wine?” By love of God they mean genuine, disinterested love and by love of wine they mean love that is driven by pleasure-seeking and self-interest.
It is true that the Christmas season is a time of happiness, a season to be enjoyed and celebrated. But it is also true that we should always remember to whom we owe this great holyday, who should be the center of this celebration. Christmas is primarily a celebration of the birth of the Incarnate Word, the Prince of Peace. And during this season we should try to make our homes, amidst our family and our friends, a kingdom of peace more than a kingdom of wealth.
St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, who was a great saint and Doctor of the church suggests “In order for us to love God as he loves us, we remember and meditate on three simple words: CRIB, CROSS, and SACRAMENT. If we remember these three words, we will come to love God in the way we should, because each of these three words is like an arrow that points out how much God loves us.
First word: CRIB. This word reminds us of what we celebrate today: the holy feast of Christmas. Some 2000 years ago Jesus was born in Bethlehem and was laid in a manger, or in a crib, which is a kind of open box where the farmer puts food for his cattle. Mary placed her infant son in the crib she found in the stable since there was no room for them at the inn.
Jesus is the Son of God made man. He could have come to earth as a fully grown up person. But no, he came as a little baby, weak and helpless, so that we could understand that he is truly human, and so that we would know how much he wants us to love him.
Second word: CROSS...This word reminds us of what Jesus did for us after he had grown up to be a man and why he came to this world. Greater love than this no man has than that he lay down his life for his friends.. This is why St. Alphonsus repeatedly says: let us love a God who has loved us so much.
Third word: SACRAMENT. Here we mean the Eucharist, the Mass, Holy Communion, the real presence of Jesus under the form of bread and wine. Again this is a gift that shows God's infinite love for us. Here in the Eucharist, the Mass, we have God going so far as to allow himself to be present to us under the form of bread and wine. He does this so that he can remain with us in a visible, tangible form until the end of time. He does this so that he can nourish us spiritually, in much the same way that ordinary bread sustains our body. He remains in our churches and chapels under this form in the tabernacle as a prisoner of love.
Love is the best Christmas present we can give -- whether to God or to his people. The more we try to love, the better we understand the reason for and the true meaning of Christmas.......
A right Christmas includes making room for Jesus. Someone said that the Christmas story is the story of God seeking a room. The inn-keeper is a symbol of those today who have no room for Jesus. The room He seeks today is in our hearts. If our hearts and lives are filled with sin—then Christ cannot come in. This means not only sins of the flesh but sins of the disposition. Envy, hate, un-forgiveness. John declares, "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave them power to become sons of God, even to those that believe in His name which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:11-13).
As we look on baby Jesus in the manger we see that he is the answer to today’s problems. Instead of violence, in baby Jesus in the manger we see gentleness. Instead of hatred, in baby Jesus in the manger we see tenderness. Instead of selfishness, in baby Jesus in the manger we see love for us. Let us ask baby Jesus to help us to be gentle, tender and loving with those around us as he was in the manger.
“Once upon a time there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug. He wasn’t a Scrooge. He was a kind and decent person. On Christmas Eve his wife and children went to church for the midnight service. He declined to accompany them. “I’d feel like a hypocrite,” he explained. “I’d rather stay at home.” He did not understand why God became a small baby.”
Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. A few minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. It was quickly followed by another, then another.
He thought that someone must be throwing snowballs at his living room window. When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the storm. They had been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his window. “I can’t let these poor creatures lie there and freeze,” he thought. “But how can I help them?” Then he remembered the barn where the children’s pony was stabled. It would provide a warm shelter.
He put on his coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the door wide and turned on a light. But the birds didn’t come in. “Food will lure them in,” he thought. So he hurried back to the house for bread crumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a trail into the barn. To his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction - except into the warm lighted barn.
“They find me a strange and terrifying creature,” he said to himself, “and I can’t seem to think of any way to let them know they can trust me. If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety. . . .”
Just at that moment the church bells began to ring. He stood silent for a while, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. Then he sank to his knees in the snow. “Now I do understand,” he whispered. “Now I see why You had to do it.”
This is A Christmas Parable written by Louis Cassels to explain the mystery of Christmas.
Let us remember what a great mystic and poet once said: “Even if Christ should be born a thousand times over in Bethlehem, as long as he is not born in your own heart, your life shall be lost and you shall have been born to no purpose” (Angelus Silesius).
The words of the fourth century poet and mystic Ephraim of Syria seem a fitting prayer:
“At this feast of the nativity Let each person wreathe the door of her or his heart So that the Holy Spirit may delight in that door Enter in and take up occupancy there Then by the spirit we will be made holy.”
Merry Christmas to you my dear brothers and sisters may the infant Jesus fill your hearts and home with love and peace.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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