Merry Christmas - Anno Domini 2020
Merry Christmas
Feliz Navidad!
Selamat Natal
Maligayamg Pasko.
Masaganang Bagong Taon
Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia
Anno Domini 2020
He Came
Our Savior has come into the world. He came as a little child to experience helplessness and fragility like us.
“Break out together in song, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted his people, has redeemed Jerusalem."(cf. Is 52: 9). Jerusalem of my heart, rejoice, for our God has come, our Savior, who redeemed us from our “Egypt”, the house of bondage. Rejoice, for the true light has shone, which shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (cf. John 1: 5). He humbled himself (see Phil 2: 8), He, the God through whom and for whom all things were made, and without him nothing came to be, what came to be (cf. John 1: 3), became man and He came into the world to share everyday life with us, to be with us in all circumstances of life, to stay with us in the darkness and to give us life, to illuminate the darkness of life with his light, to enable our heart to love. He came that "everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life" (Jn 3:16).
He came to reveal the truth about his Father (cf. John 1:18), who is through Him our Father. A tender, loving, gentle Father, longing for your love above all else, giving us freedom of choice and always reaching out to us in his love and mercy, patient in waiting for our response to His love (cf. John 15: 11-32). He came who is the reflection of the glory and essence of our Father who is in heaven (cf. Heb 1: 3).
He came to console our heart, fill us with peace and joy. It is not necessarily a laughing joy, sometimes it is a difficult joy, in the midst of pain, but it is a real joy. The joy of being a child of God, of being a child loved and desired by God Himself. The joy that comes from the sense of meaning in our life, because He gives it value by loving us, and a love that has no beginning or end, which exceeds all our human ideas about its greatness and limitlessness.
Our Savior has come into the world. He came as a little child to experience helplessness and fragility like us. To experience the process of growth and development as we are.
To be with us in our everyday life and share our fate with us. He came to give himself to us, to put himself in our hands. Will we welcome Him into the home of our heart? Will we cover Him with care and tenderness? Will we let Him give us His love? Will we believe His Word? Will we let God's Word be born in us, put into action by our hands? Our Savior, our God, has come into the world to embrace us by His love. And He asks us today: do you love me?
We should always talk about Christmas in the perspective of mercy. And that is fantastic perspective to describe the miracle of the Night when Jesus was born. The Fathers of the Church, when looking at the manger, said: the manger is a symbol of human sin. The animal will always return to the manger, and where do we always return? We know well where we are coming back to, each of us knows what are the sins we are returning to. We are going back to the manger! And then, when we return to our sins, Christ is waiting for us there, because the first place He chose for His birth was a stable, and He wanted to be placed in a manger: this is the greatest miracle of the night. It seems that this is the most holy place, the most important for God and that He only wants to live there. Meanwhile, he wanted to live in the middle of human sin from the very beginning, because he came to call not just and not saints, but those who are gravely sinners: he comes to them and wants to lead them out of this sin.
Holidays of the Nativity of Jesus are incredibly joyful, and this joy has a very deep justification, because Christ touches our problem at the very root: where we are sinners, where we would feel that God does not even belong there, He wants to be there in this our world, he transforms our manger into a temple in the place of his presence. I wish you this very much: this is the best good news of Christmas!
fr. george
Christmas wishes might not necessarily come true. It is good when people ask God to have His will done. We wish that we would not lose hope, that we would thank God for being in his hands. It is not enough to be moved when you see a Christmas Tree and when you see Saint Nicholas that brings presents. Christmas Eve is sharing the love, seeking those who are close to you and rejoicing when you meet them at the Eucharistic Table. Only then Christmas becomes the greatest feast of Man.
Our sincere thanks go to you all, for your kindness, your support, your help, your patience, your understanding, for always being so nice to us.
May the Merciful Jesus bless you and bring you to the everlasting life.
From all of us at The Lay Institute of Divine Mercy