Merry Christmas! Go forth, glorifying the Lord by your lives!

December 25, 2017 - The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) - Mass at Dawn

The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Mass at Dawn
Lectionary: 15

Reading 1	Isaiah 62:11-12
Responsorial	Psalms 97:1, 6, 11-12
Reading 2	Titus 3:4-7
Gospel	Luke 2:15-20

The Christmas season has begun.   Catholics will be celebrating the birth of Christ in a special way for the next 16 days, culminating the season with the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord.  It is a way of reminding us that every day is a chance for Christ to be born in our hearts, and for us to become little Christs to change a world much in need of His presence.  We gather together on this day each year to exchange gifts, join in fellowship, and of course to feast on the wonderful gifts of food that God has given us.   It’s about so much more than that though.   It’s primarily a day of worship.   A day that reminds us to stop and truly appreciate what God did for us in the Incarnation, when divinity and flesh became one. 

There is a beautiful prayer that is said during Mass that reminds us of the truly beautiful mystery that we Christians celebrate.   “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”   The two things became one.   The water in its natural state, provided by God himself, represents the human condition.  It’s simple, plain.   The wine represents the divinity of Christ.  It is rich, aromatic and pleasant.  The idea here that is being taught is that though a drop of water touched divinity, divinity was not diluted.   The water became part of the wine.   This is a reminder that when we receive Christ in the Eucharist; body, soul, and divinity; the Eucharist does not get absorbed by our humanity, but rather our humanity is being changed that we too might be able to share in His divine attributes: eternal life.

I think often we forget how we should react to that.  All of those present at the moment when the shepherds came to see the baby Jesus in the manger, they were amazed at what was said.  Sometimes we get into a habit of just receiving.   We forget who it is we are receiving.  What the gift of communion truly is.   How that when we look up at that small wafer of bread we are seeing all of the power that created life, created the universe, created all things that exist.   We are gazing upon God who has come to be a part of us.  Then when we receive it, if we are in a state of grace, we are filled with even more graces to allow us to live out our Baptismal calling and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we received at Confirmation. 

How then should we react when we participate in this most blessed Sacrament of the Altar?  The same way Mary did when she heard the news from the shepherds.  First and foremost we should “keep all these things, reflecting on them in our hearts.”   We should spend time studying our faith, the Scriptures, and our Traditions.   We should meditate on them to understand exactly what it is we believe, and why.   Our faith does not end behind those doors.  When we leave the Sanctuary to go out into the world, the Priest or Deacon proclaims, “Go in peace, glorying the Lord by your lives.”   Part of that means being ready and willing to give a testimony as to our faith, as to why we believe what we do. 

Secondly, we must react as the shepherds did upon seeing the newborn king.  Remember, you are looking upon Christ in the Sacrament.   You are encountering Him in Confession, the Eucharist, Baptism, Confirmation, and if you are married, in Holy Matrimony.   Those lucky enough to be ordained are servants to the body of Christ, configured to Christ the Priest, or Christ the Servant, to reach out to the body to help both the Ordained and the Laity encounter Christ again in each other.  The shepherds though reacted thusly:  “Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.“   They went back to their normal life, but they didn’t go back unchanged.  They instead went back full of joy, full of hope, and proclaiming a message that something beautiful had just happened, something new.   The world would never be the same again.

As we approach the calendar New Year, we celebrate so many beautiful feasts that remind us again and again of this Gospel we have been entrusted with.   From the celebration of the day Jesus was circumcised, and shed His first drops of blood in the plan of our redemption, to the day when He was baptized and began His public ministry proclaiming the kingdom of God; we are taught what it means to be Christian.   That is, that we are to be Christlike in our own lives.   To follow in the footsteps of His disciples, the Apostles, and Mary who gave us the ultimate example of discipleship: a complete and utter surrender to God and His plan, even at the risk of her own pain. 

I pray for each of you, my friends, my family, my Parish, and even my online readers: May God grant you a particular grace this Christmas to experience Him in a way that grants you consolation, in a way that reminds you of His great love for you.   May you be filled with the Holy Spirit, may He descend on you as tongues of flame to invigorate you and give you courage.  God’s blessings be upon you, your family, and your friends this day and forever more.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Merry Christmas!

His servant and yours,
Brian Mullins


He has showed you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)