Today, we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, we rejoice in God’s overwhelming love for us, expressed through His Son Jesus Christ. We celebrate His birth with unrestrained joy. “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” The Son of God became man to give us a share in that divine life which is eternally His in the Blessed Trinity. The feast of the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the greatest Christian holy day after Easter. “Christ Mass” is the Eucharistic feast celebrating the birth of Christ, the Incarnation of Second Person of the Holy Trinity in the womb of the Virgin Mary, who came to suffer and die on a cross to save us from our sins.
Today is the first day in the octave of Christmas. The octave of Christmas lasts from December 25th until January 1st, the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. In the current Roman Catholic calendar the Christmas season begins on December 24 with the first Vespers of the feast and ends on the feast of the Baptism of Christ, on the Sunday following Epiphany; on the ancient liturgical calendar Christmastide continues until Candlemas, or the Presentation of Jesus on February 2nd. Three Masses are celebrated at Christmas: Midnight Mass, or “The Angel’s Mass”; Mass at Dawn, or “The Shepherd’s Mass; and Mass during the Day, or “The King’s Mass.” Christmas is a Holy Day of Obligation.
The Christmas feast is a festival full of joy. The Eternal Word has become Man and dwells among us. The longings of the patriarchs and prophets are fulfilled. With the shepherds we hurry to the manger and adore the Incarnate Son of God, who for us and for our salvation descended upon earth. The purpose of the Christmas feast is beautifully expressed in the Preface of the Nativity: “For by the mystery of the Word made flesh the light of Thy glory hath shone anew upon the eyes of our mind; so that while we acknowledge Him a God seen by men, we may be drawn by Him to the love of things unseen.”
The Advent Gospels have helped us prepare for this day! We have been encouraged through the words of the prophets, John the Baptist, and the angel Gabriel, who said – “Do not be afraid.” God knows that we yearn to be free, and thus sends Christ into our midst. Through Christ we are once again invited into the “fulness of life” – where hope and joy are realities, not dreams. Our joy is the Good News of salvation in Christ, the Incarnate One, Emmanuel, God-with-us. Look at a scene of the Nativity of Jesus Christ. In that humble moment, God comes as an infant child for one reason and one reason only, for us to have the opportunity for salvation.
According to history, about twenty hundred years ago, a decree went forth from the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, commanding a general census in which all the people of the empire should be enrolled, “each in his own city,” that is, in the place to which his tribe and family belonged. Joseph and Mary went from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David, because they were of the family of that king. Bethlehem is situated about five or six miles south of Nazareth. There, in a stable, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, was born, according to tradition, at midnight, or soon after, on December 25. And it came to pass that, when they were there, Mary “brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapped Him up in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Lk 2:7).
The history of the first Christmas is made familiar to Catholics by the devotion of the “Christmas Crib.” In the year 1226, St. Francis of Assisi, with the permission of the Pope, set up the first of these cribs for the purpose of instructing the people and increasing in their hearts love and devotion for the Infant Savior. Christmas takes its name from the central and supreme act of Christian worship. Christmas means “Christ’s Mass,” the Mass offered in honor of the birth of Christ. Nearly all European languages, except English, use a word signifying nativity or birthday of Christ to designate the feast of Christmas. In all lands and languages the great fact commemorated is the birth of Christ, and the great action by which that fact is commemorated and renewed is the Mass. On Christmas priests may celebrate three Masses to honor the threefold birth of the Son of God: His birth in time and in our humanity in the stable of Bethlehem; Hid spiritual birth by faith and charity in the souls of the shepherds, and in our souls, and in the souls who earnestly seek Him; and lastly, His eternal generation in the bosom of the Father.
PRAYER: God, in an admirable fashion You established the dignity of human nature and You reformed it in a more admirable manner. Grant that we may come to share in the Dignity of Your Son Who chose to share our humanity. Amen 🙏
SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/solemnity-of-the-nativity-of-our-lord/
Daily Reflections with Philomena | https://dailyreflectionswithphilomena.com/