CHRISTMAS, 2008 | Fr. James. V. Schall, S.J. | December 25, 2008 | Ignatius Insight
"Dearly beloved, today our
Savior is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on this birthday
of life." -- St. Leo the Great, Pope, d.
461 A.D., Sermon on the Birthday of Christ, Christmas Office.
The antiphon for the Office of
Readings for Christmas Day reads: "Christ is born for us: Come let us adore
Him." This antiphon does not say "May
Christ be born," let alone, "May
He be born 'for us.'" It states rather an "is," a fact. Christ is born. Christ is born for us.
Why does it not say, "Christ
"was" born for us?" We know He died on the Cross in Jerusalem thirty-some years
after His birth. It is because the Christ who was born of Mary in the time of
Caesar Augustus is not dead. He is risen. He was born to conquer death, which
He did.
But here on the Feast of the
Nativity, we celebrate the birth, the Nativity of Christ. To comprehend it all,
we take one thing at a time. Pope St. Leo, speaking of the same event, the same
fact, says that a "savior" is born to us. He is identified as "Christ the
Lord."
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008
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It's Christmas morning here in the east, a light snow falling, covering everything with a nice fresh coat of white.
As Fr. Schall points out, the best gift God could ever give us is Himself, and He did. Such a great awesome thing, that gift. That He could love us that much.
God bless you and yours Carl, Mark, Fr. Fessio and everyone else at Ignatius Press. Merry Christmas!
Posted by: LJ | Thursday, December 25, 2008 at 08:08 AM