These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
(Mt 10:22)
The feast of Saint Stephen coming so close to Christmas Day feels somewhat jarring until we realize that in the early church martyrdom was considered one’s “birthday” into heaven. And so Saint Stephen has the honor to celebrate his “heavenly birthday” the day after we celebrate the Birth of the Lord. It is also a good reminder that the Birth of the Lord was not welcomed by the “powers that be.” The Christmas Carol is from Ecuador, Entre Paja y el Heno (Between the Straw and the Hay).
Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God.
(John 1:11-12)
Beloved, let us give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit, because in his great love for us he took pity on us, and when we were dead in our sins he brought us to life with Christ, so that in him we might be a new creation. Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom. Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit.
(A Christmas Homily of Saint Leo the Great)
Today’s Christmas Carol is one of the most joyful: Los Peces en el Río.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
(MASS DURING THE NIGHT)
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.
(Lk 2:1-14)
(MASS AT DAWN)
So the shepherds went in haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
(Lk 2:15-20)
The Son of God became the Son of Man so that all men and women could become the dear Children of God.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be?
For never before or after, has there been any like you.
Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel at me?
For what you behold is a divine mystery.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
(Lk 1:67-79)
Our joyful waiting is almost at an end, as the Canticle of Zechariah proclaims, “the dawn from on high shall break upon us.”
O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God!
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?"
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
(Lk 1:57-66)
“What will this child be?” A wonderful question whenever we encounter a child. For as people of faith we know that the hand of the Lord is with every child born into this world. I had an uncle who was born on December 26th. My grandmother always made sure to hold back one of his Christmas presents for him to open on his birthday and of course, there was always a birthday cake. And for all those who were born in this holy time, and share a birthday near the Lord’s, we know that your love is like His. The picture today is of John the Baptist from the Church of Saint Mary in West Jefferson, NC. The Christmas Carol today is from Colombia, Dulce Jesús Mío (My Sweet Jesus).
