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Let us
embrace this holy season
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
The secular observance of the “holidays” seems to start earlier each
year. One could easily conclude that cash register receipts are the most
important part of it all. The media seem to glory in informing us that
holiday sales are ahead or behind past years. Without doubt, the
pre-Dec. 25 time frame is filled with parties, shopping and preparation
for family gatherings and indulgent meals. For many it’s a frenzied
time. No wonder Christmas trees are stored away shortly after Dec. 25.
In fact, however, the Christmas Season as celebrated by the Church
doesn’t begin until the feast of the Nativity and extends well into
January, this year until Jan. 8. Perhaps that is incomprehensible to
many, but it’s the way it’s supposed to be and was before the “holidays”
co-opted Christmas.
On Dec. 25 and its vigil, the focus is on the nativity of the Lord. The
Scripture readings for the Mass at Midnight offer the Bethlehem story.
In the opening prayer for that Mass, the Catholic world prays: “Father,
you make this holy night radiant with the splendor of Jesus Christ our
light. We welcome him as Lord, the true light of the world. Bring us to
the eternal joy in the kingdom of heaven, where he lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.”
The Scripture readings are different for the Christmas Mass celebrated
at dawn. St. Paul reminds us that Jesus Christ our Savior has saved us,
not because of any righteous deeds we have done, but because of his
mercy.
The Gospel for the third Christmas Mass (Mass during the day) doesn’t
mention Joseph, Mary or the shepherds, but proclaims: “In the beginning
was the Word; the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. He
was present to God in the beginning. Through him all things came into
being, and apart from him nothing came to be. Whatever came to be in
him, found life, life for the light of men … the Word became flesh and
made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory: the glory of an
only Son coming from the Father, filled with enduring love.”
When I was a young priest, I thought it was a strange Gospel passage for
Christmas. Over the years I have come to better understand how it cuts
to the true meaning of the season. It’s the Nativity stripped of
commercialism and romanticism. It is about God’s immeasurable love for
us. It is about Jesus of Nazareth who gave his life to save us from the
selfishness of sin. It is about him through whom God speaks to us. It is
about the Son who revealed his Father because he is God made man.
Jan. 1 is not a holy day of obligation this year. But, it is a feast
day. We honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Because she is the
mother of Jesus, Son of God and second person of the Blessed Trinity,
Mary is rightly called the Mother of God (Theotokos). It was the Council
of Ephesus in 431 which gave Mary this title. It was given because many
were doubting the identity of Jesus. Was he truly God and truly man? The
council declared that he was and therefore because he was truly God, his
mother could be called “Mother of God.”
The Christmas Season continues on Dec. 31 with the celebration of the
Holy Family. To Catholics, the family is the “domestic Church.”
Meditating on the ups and downs of the Holy Family of Nazareth points to
real people: a man who found his beloved was pregnant, knowing he was
not the father; a teenager told that she was to become a mother even
though she was not married; a young couple and their baby, refugees in a
foreign land; the encounter with Simeon and Anna when Jesus was
presented in the temple; the anxiety in the hearts of Mary and Joseph
when they became separated from Jesus when he was 12 years old, only to
have him tell them when found: “Did you not know I had to be in my
Father’s house?”
Finally, the Christmas Season will come to a close with the celebration
of Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord on Jan. 7 and 8. Christmas will
be a distant memory for most. But, it should not be for us who, on
Epiphany, remember the coming of the Magi. It is referred to as “little
Christmas.” The next day, a Monday, the Baptism of the Lord ushers in
the adult Christ and his ministry, and the Christmas Season will have
ended.
I pray that the true Christmas Season, devoid of frenzied commercialism,
will not slip away as soon as presents are scattered, the festive meal
devoured, and all fall in bed in quasi exhaustion the night of Dec. 25.
Rather, let us rejoice in our faith and try, as best we can, to embrace
the holy season that begins with Mass on the feast of the Nativity and
extends well into January.
Let our focus be on the great gift we have received in Jesus Christ. Let
us reflect on the many blessings we enjoy, name them in our prayers, and
approach God with an attitude of gratitude demonstrated by fidelity to
Mass week after week throughout 2007. Let’s make the true Christmas
Season a most wonderful time of the year.
You will be included in my Christmas Mass celebrated at the cathedral. I
in turn ask for an inclusion in your prayers. |
