The adoration of the shepherds is depicted in this 17th-century painting by Bartolome Esteban Murillo. The feast of the Nativity of Christ, a holy day of obligation, is celebrated Dec. 25. (CNS/Bridgeman Images)
2017 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
your birthday comes to tell me this
— each luckiest of lucky days
i’ve loved, shall love, do love you, was
and will be and my birthday is
—e. e. cummings—
As we celebrate the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ, we reflect back in thanksgiving for all he has already done for us. He gave us life and made love possible, comforted us in our sorrows and helped us carry our burdens. He healed us of our wounded nature and freed us from our sins. His birthday has been a new birth for us all.
We also think of our present blessings, especially those we so often take for granted. We give thanks for the beauty of creation, for the love of family and friends, for the ability to work, to play, to love and to laugh. His birthday reminds us of our daily birth into more and more of God’s blessings.
In recalling the beautiful stories surrounding the birthday of Jesus, we commit ourselves to helping the rest of the world rejoice in his saving presence. As we recall the obedience of his mother Mary to the mission God entrusted to her, we look forward to bringing Jesus to light for others, just as she did. In contemplating the amazing trust of Joseph in his God-inspired dreams, we dream of a future in which we can protect all the vulnerable among us, from the unborn to the bullied, from the frail elderly to the lonely and depressed. As we ponder his first resting place in a manger, we commit ourselves to love him by caring for the homeless and the poor. As we reflect upon the visit of the Magi we commit ourselves to care for the refugee and the immigrant, so that they can be guided by the light of hope. As we reflect on the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, which means “House of Bread,” we commit ourselves to call others to journey to the house where Jesus is ever present as the Bread of Life in the Eucharist. His birthday will then promise not only a bright future for ourselves, but Peace on Earth for all our brothers and sisters.
The days when we’ve loved Jesus are cause for thanksgiving; this day in which we do love him is cause for joy; and the days ahead when we shall love him are our ground for hope. It is the wonderful birthday of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ we celebrate with great joy, remembering that in doing so we ourselves are reborn in everlasting love.
