A Message for Christmas 2019

[Richard_White]

My dear friends on Catholic Answers Forums,

The year 2019 has been a whirlwind for the United States of America, the Catholic Church, and the world. The bowing down before pagan idols in Rome, the center of Catholicism. . . . The unveiling of the corruption and abuse that has been almost grafted into the network of the Church for decades. The continued opioid epidemic. The rise in homelessness - according to the Department of Housing & Urban Development, "homelessness in California increased by 21,306 people, or 16.4 percent, which is more than the total national increase of every other state combined.” The oppression of democracy in Hong Kong, the imprisonment of Chinese Muslims in re-education camps, and the continued repression of the true Catholic Church in China. The political/societal/economic unrest in Venezuela, where the vast majority of the population cannot even find enough food to eat. The continued dominance of drug cartels in Mexico, who killed an innocent family by the border, as well as the violence and corruption rampant in Central America that forces thousands of people to flee their homes. Nations like Iran and North Korea that continue to threaten us. The trampling of our Constitution every single day. The continued massacre of unborn infants. The promotion of Satanism and demons in children’s books. An impeachment trial where partisanship has been more powerful than truth. An Advent/Christmas season with more materialism and commercialism than I have ever seen.

Plagued by controversies left and right, we have all devolved into a state of hatred, scorn, divisiveness, and frankly, evil. We Christians, too, have given into these things. We have given in to the world. We have watched as the world continues to go in a direction that we find unpleasant. We have left God behind and have allowed ourselves to merely become assimilated into a culture of death, destruction, and selfishness. For this, we should all be ashamed. We should beat our breasts in sorrow, contrition, and repentance for the things we have done and have failed to do. We should be crawling on our knees to the Lord, begging for His forgiveness. And yet, we do not deserve a single iota of mercy from God.

(Continued in next post)

 

[Richard_White]

But, tonight, as we begin our Christmas celebrations, we are reminded that Jesus is the Light of the World. That He, God-with-us, has entered into time, into space, into the human experience to show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life that we ought to lead and to bring to us eternal life through His Paschal Mystery. He dispels the darkness around us. He, who has suffered all things and experienced everything that we do, takes upon Himself all of our burdens, all of our fears, all of our pain, all of our suffering, and gives it new life and meaning in Himself. He brings us peace, He brings us love, He brings us the Divine Mercy that we do not deserve, but that He gives freely anyway.

. . . .He gives us all of these wonderful things - love, mercy, peace, etc. - including . . . through each one of us, as His hands and His feet in this world. It is through our collaboration with God and through the making of Holy Moments even in the smallest parts of life (i.e., forgiving someone who has wronged us, giving of our time to those who need a lending hand or a listening ear). In these ways, we can show the world that we are Christians, that we refuse to give in to the darkness of the world around us, but that we will perpetuate Christ’s Light by our lives. We have to be radically different, because Jesus Himself and His Gospel message were radically different! If each one of us does our part, then we can truly make a difference such that our families will be rooted in love, our communities will be more caring, and our countries will be in peace. But we have to start by remembering who Jesus is, what He came here for, what He has done for us, and what He calls us to do in emulation and continuation of Him.

In short, the world needs Christians to perpetuate Christmas by actually being the Light of Christ to a world in darkness. It is in this way alone that peace can reign on earth.

I will leave you with a prayer from this month’s Magnificat: “Loving Father, darkness is for ever changed because of the birth of the Eternal Light: our Lord Jesus Christ. Take all of the darkness of our lives and replace it with the radiance of our newborn Savior. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Merry Christmas brothers and sisters! May God bless you all with joy and peace in this season and throughout the New Year, and may He guide you to spread His Light to all the world! Amen.

 

[Irishmom2]

Merry Christmas to you as well, @Richard_White. May God bless you with his peace and shower you with his Love.