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God
Dwells Among Us
December 25, 2006
Readings
for the Solemnity of Christmas
(Mass at Midnight)
| Reading
1: Is. 9:1–6 |
| Responsorial
Psalm: Ps. 96: 1–2, 2–3, 11–12, 13 |
| Reading
2: Tit. 2:11–14 |
| Gospel:
Lk. 2:1–14 |
| Link
to Readings |
By Father Wade Menezes, C.P.M.
Aim:
to explain the gifts of Christmas: (1) God’s greatest
gift to us, his Son; (2) our gifts in return: faith, dedication
to others; imitation of his Christ-life.
As we
gather during the opening hours of this great solemnity of
Christmas, we become the first heralds of so wonderful a message:
that God has sent his Only Begotten Son among us—in
the flesh—to bring us hope and to save us from
all fear, despair, helplessness, and misery. We are likewise
the first proclaimers and hearers of the entrance
antiphon, “The Lord said to me: you are my Son; this
day I have begotten you.”
Thus have
we borne witness to the fruitfulness of the Incarnation, the
full-flowering of Mary’s fiat. So it is that
we acknowledge early—very early—this
morning the gifts of Christmas; and as is characteristic of
this time of year, the gift-giving at hand involves a two-way
exchange: God’s greatest gift to us,
his Son, and our gifts in return of faith, dedication
to others and imitation of his Christ-life.
Until our arrival
at Mass some twenty minutes or so ago, we were, in a sense,
“a people that walked in darkness” (not knowing
what gift they were receiving, so to speak) but who have now
“seen a great light” as told to us by the Prophet
Isaiah in the first reading. It’s as though our gift
has been opened, and the contents realized!
In the
responsorial Psalm, we repeatedly chanted that “Today
is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.” This proclamation
of Faith is one whereby we have acknowledged this great Gift
of Light, Christ’s birth among us. Such creedal statements
find their expression early this morning not only from our
minds, hearts, and lips, but from our bodily actions as well:
During our Profession of Faith, we will all genuflect at the
words “and became man” (a public acknowledgement
as it were—a “Thank You”—for the Great
Gift received!).
In response
to this Gift, in gratitude for it, we must strive to heed
the words of St. Paul in his Letter to Titus that “what
we have to do now is give up everything that does not lead
to God.” While such a task may, at times, seem hopeless,
we obtain comfort from the words of the Angels given to the
Shepherds in the Gospel: “Do not be afraid!” We
must not be afraid because we, too, have “news of great
joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people.” This joy
is that God, the great Gift Giver, has literally
given to us his Divine Son, Christ the Lord!
Father
Wade L. J. Menezes, CPM, is a member of the Fathers of Mercy,
an itinerant missionary preaching order based in Auburn, Kentucky.
He is an occasional contributor to Lay Witness magazine.
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