Isaiah 52:7-10, Psalm 98: 1-6, Hebrews 1: 1-6, John 1:1- 18.
At last! Christmas Day has arrived; we can settle down relax and rejoice. The past few days have been very busy, with lots of activities like shopping, deep cleaning of our houses, decorating the Christmas Tree, wrapping gifts, sending out messages, and many others. The Central message of Christmas is God’s presence in our lives. He has been with us on our Advent journey, and today we have reached our destination though our journey continues, for God is in the depth in which we live and move have our being. He does not only live within us but also dwells in everyone we encounter especially the less fortunate around us. Today, in the book of Isaiah and the Psalmist, both remind us that the kingdom includes everyone, “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God”. Therefore, let us help all those around us to experience the peace of the newborn savior, by sharing our love in the form of compassionate words, unconditional love, selfless service, merciful deeds, kindness, and generosity, which is our spirit. As we celebrate the birth of our Prince of Peace, may we remember to pray for different parts of the world, which are constantly threatened by war, violence, famine, conflicts, and the numerous children who have been killed in Gaza since October this year and many catastrophic events, which take away peace. May we bring this peace and love into our world.
St. Irenaeus noted that the glory of God is humanity fully alive. In the Gospel of today, John wrote “ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” Convinced that God is indeed with us and dwells in every circumstance of our life, may go to the heart of Christmas and embrace Jesus Christ our Lord and savior. May we join the angels who announced the birth of Christ by singing” Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth”. St. Augustine once said, “What do I profit if Jesus born in many cribs in the world is not born in my heart”? We pray for the grace of Jesus’ birth in each one of us to bring peace, love and compassion to give away to others we meet and live with during the everyday life of the 2024 and radiate His presence within us.
Wishing you all a grace-filled Christmastide and keep awake to the God-life within us. May baby Jesus be born today in Bethlehem and in our hearts bless us with all the peace, joy and love of this day.
Betty Susan Nankya Nsanja Guadalupe, RSCJ