The Shepherds' Visit
by VP
Posted on Tuesday December 31, 2024 at 12:00AM in Meditations
Gerard van Honthorst (1592–1656) Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1622). Pomerania State Museum
"The first who came to pay their homage to the new-born King were the shepherds who were watching in the fields of Bethlehem, and to whom an angel had announced the birth of Christ the Lord. They received this honor because —
1. They were poor, and therefore were well suited to gather round the King Who came to live in poverty on earth. The Eternal Father chose poverty for His well-beloved Son, and therefore poverty must be better than riches. The poor are to be envied rather than pitied so long as their poverty is not due to their own sin or folly. How many who have saved their souls in poverty would have lost them if they had been rich ! Hence, if you are poor, do not
regret your poverty, but rather rejoice in it.
2. They were simple of heart, untainted by the world's deceits. None but good, simple men would have thus come in the darkness of the night, to the stable of Bethlehem, to find their Savior and their King. God loves simplicity. '* If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be light-some," says Our Lord, and He thereby describes the happy lot of those whose one aim is to do their work with simplicity for God alone. Is this my spirit?
3. They were shepherds. The occupation is one which God seems to love. The man after God's own heart was a shepherd. Our Lord calls Himself the Good Shepherd. The apostles' dignity lies in the fact that they were shepherds of the flock. Every Christian is a shepherd, in that some sheep or lands are committed to his care. Am I a zealous shepherd of the sheep of Christ ?
Meditations for Christmas . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
The Angels' Song
by VP
Posted on Monday December 30, 2024 at 12:00AM in Meditations
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682)
"On the night of the Nativity a countless multitude of the heavenly host were singing the praises of the new-born King. Let us listen to them.
1. They are singing Gloria in excelsis Deo — '* Glory to God in the highest !" It is the first song they have sung on earth since the Fall. It is sung on the occasion of the infinite humiliation of the Son of God. Yet they sing, Glory to God in the highest ! It must, therefore, be a source of unspeakable glory to God that He has taken the form of a servant, that He has humbled Himself to the very dust. If this is such a source of glory to God, my true glory must consist in humbling myself.
2. They are also singing of peace to men. What sort of peace . Not external peace, for Christ came not to bring peace, but a sword; but true peace, internal peace, that tranquillity of soul that nothing can destroy. This is the boon that Christ gives to all who love Him, in proportion to their love.
3. But peace not for all, only for men of good will. Christ, indeed, brought peace to all, but all did not accept it, only those whose good will and loyal spirit of submission made them ready to acknowledge Him as their Lord, and whom, therefore, the good will of God had predestined to the eternal peace and joy of heaven. God grant that I may be one of these !"
Meditations for Christmas . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
RETROSPECT.
by VP
Posted on Sunday December 29, 2024 at 12:00AM in Sermons
"BETWEEN remembering the old year and looking forward to the new year, this day should be a busy one for the Christian. It ought to be a day of examination of conscience. Good Christians examine their consciences in some manner or other daily, and some are so vividly in God's presence that they scrutinize every act of their lives; and this is what it is to be thoroughly conscientious. Conscientiousness when cultivated is nothing less than habitual consciousness of the Divine presence. We know, to be sure, that some persons are overparticular in examination of conscience, and these are called scrupulous. But most of us are not scrupulous enough. The cultivation of the conscience tends to a constant realizing of the Divine presence, and when this becomes habitual the soul becomes perfect.
There are two kinds of examination of conscience, both of which are good. One is done at fixed times by some arrangement with one's self honestly adhered to. The other kind of examination is spontaneous. In this latter case the conscience won't let you pass an hour, or even a minute, without undergoing scrutiny. In the former case you examine your conscience, and in the latter your conscience examines you. I have met numbers of persons who need never examine their consciences when preparing for confession : they live habitually in the Divine presence and are ready at all moments to perform the highest spiritual duties. I think it was one of the St. Catharines who was kneading dough to make bread for the community when the bell rang for Communion; she went up and received our Lord with the dough sticking to her hands and then went back to her batch of bread and she was excellently well disposed for Communion. St. Francis of Sales, from the evenness of character which he attained, must have had this gift of consciousness of the Divine presence in a high degree.
Brethren, I wish all of you had something of this high gift. But for most of us I may truly say that the examination of conscience which will benefit us will be that made at set times; of course, at confession. But no practice will produce better results for persons of good sense than having fixed times at which we shall go over the actions of the day. And on New Year's Day, of all day's in the year, we should take account of our conduct towards God and our neighbor and ourselves, and make good resolutions for the future. The fact is that on a day like this the old year rises and demands examination. Sometimes we say, "The past is gone." But in truth there is no such good luck as that. It would be a very good thing for some of us if the past could be politely bowed out with the old year. But there it is, fixed for ever. The past year is an account book turned over to God's court to witness for or against us; let us try and get a favorable balance out of it. At any rate, let us know the truth about it.
Let us face about, therefore, brethren, and look back over the past twelve months, and question the seasons of the old year. How did I begin the old year and
how did I behave myself last winter? Did I make my Easter duty last
spring? Did I attend Mass regularly and worship God through the summer, or did I make the Lord's Day one of carousing and picnicking and drinking? Have I used my tongue for blaspheming, my body for lust, my soul for slavery to the evil one? Have I unjustly gotten any of my neighbor's property? Have I been brutal to my family? These sound like ugly questions. But there's no happy New Year for you or me till we have answered them and many others besides, repented of our sins and make good resolutions for confession and Communion, and for a good life for the future." Five minute Sermons, Congregation of St. Paul 1893
The Little Maid.
by VP
Posted on Sunday December 29, 2024 at 12:00AM in Meditations
Tradition asserts that besides Joseph and Mary there was present in the stable at Bethlehem a little maid, who had accompanied them from Nazareth and ministered to Our Lady and the new-born Child.
1. Consider the happiness of this little servant who was privileged to wait upon the holy Mother of God. If to wait upon a queen is considered an honor worthy of maidens of the highest birth, how much more to wait upon the Queen of heaven ! Angels must have envied her the task, and longed to be allowed to share in it. I, too, can wait upon Mary by walking in processions in her honor, by kneeling before her statue, by offering her flowers or votive candies, or, if this is out of my power, by declaring to her my loyalty and desire to serve her.
2. Consider this maiden had a still greater privilege. She ministered to God Himself as He lay in the manger. She had the singular honor of being the first after His Mother and St. Joseph to wait upon the King of kings ; nay, to carry Him in her arms, and to look upon the face of God ; to fold Him to her bosom. How pure and holy she must have been ! How pure and holy I ought to be who in holy Communion am brought into still closer contact with the sacred body of Christ !
3. Consider how you would have acted had you been that little servant. Imagine yourself ministering to the Infant Jesus. How unworthy of the task, yet how eager to fulfill it well, to anticipate the wishes of Mary! Do I thus minister to Him in His brethren?
Meditations for Christmas . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
The Foster-father
by VP
Posted on Saturday December 28, 2024 at 12:00AM in Meditations
MARCANTONIO FRANCESCHINI Bologna 1648 - 1729 Saint Joseph with the Christ Child
At no great distance from the Mother of God stands His holy foster-father St. Joseph, the third person of that earthly trinity. What can we learn from him ?
1. He is the true husband of Mary, united to her by a closer bond than any on earth save that which exists between the Mother and the Son. He IS, moreover, the true earthly father of Jesus in everything except the fact of carnal generation. He has committed to him the care of God Himself, and of her who is dearer to God than all the world beside. He is, therefore, next to Mary, of all mankind the most privileged and the most exalted. How, then, can we honor him enough ?
2. When God gives to any one an office. He gives him the virtues and the qualities which are required for its perfect exercise. What, then, must have been the virtues of St. Joseph ! He must have had every virtue, not only in an eminent degree, but in a degree to which none other of the sons of men ever attained. In prudence, justice, humility, charity, he was far above all others. I therefore must ask of him every grace that I need.
3. Above all, St. Joseph was eminent for his unspotted purity. Many theologians assert that he was sanctified in his mother's womb. None save Mary was ever so pure as he. This it was that qualified him for his intimate union with Jesus and Mary. If I desire to be united to them, I must be pure of heart. St. Joseph, obtain for me this grace of purity !
Meditations for Christmas . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
The Holy Mother
by VP
Posted on Friday December 27, 2024 at 12:00AM in Meditations
The Virgin Mary with the Christ child, surrounded by angel's heads. Engraving by C.D. Jardinier after C. Hutin after C. Maratta.
"By the side of the manger where the Infant lies, His Mother is watching. Who is she ?
1. A poor and humble maiden, but nevertheless the Mother of God. The Mother of God! How can this be ? How can the Eternal, Infinite God have a human mother? Yet so it is; Mary has a privilege which raises her immeasurably above the highest of the seraphim. It makes her more perfect in her likeness to God than is possible to any other creature. If, then, we honor the saints and angels, how much more should we honor God's own Mother !
2. Yet Mary has a still greater claim to our homage, a more fruitful source of blessedness even than the divine maternity. Her unswerving obedience to the inspirations of God is declared by Our Lord Himself to be a still higher privilege. "Yea, rather blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it." If only we realized the blessedness of unswerving obedience, how different our lot would be !
3. What are Mary's thoughts as she sits watching there? She has no thought save of God. She is absorbed in Him. The hours pass like minutes, they are a sort of anticipation of Paradise. She sees her God face to face, and though His glory is veiled under the robe of flesh, yet Mary can pierce through it as none else ever could, and can bask in the Divinity which it conceals. O God, help me to realize now Thy presence when Thou art veiled under the sacramental species. "
Meditations for Christmas . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
The New-born Child
by VP
Posted on Thursday December 26, 2024 at 12:00AM in Meditations
Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre
(1714–1789) 
"In the cradle before us lies the new-born
Infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes and laid in the manger. Let us
contemplate Him for a few moments and see what lessons He teaches us.
1.
He teaches us the unspeakable force of divine charity. How was it
possible for the Eternal Word, the co-equal Son of God, to leave the
bosom of His Father to clothe Himself with the flesh of sinful man? It
seems an almost extravagant act of love, one unworthy of the dignity of
God. Yet love puts everything aside except the burning desire to promote
the welfare of the loved. The Son of God forgot all else in His divine
compassion for us. How dearly He must love us ! How great should be our
confidence in His love!
2. He teaches us never to judge by
appearances. If we had been told that God had come to dwell on earth,
would not the stable of Bethlehem have been the last place where we
should have sought Him. In how many a humble cottage there may still be
found saints more dear to God than even those who have a world wide
repute for their holiness and virtue !
3. He teaches us the true
dignity of self-abasement. God could not do anything unworthy of
Himself when clad in human flesh. It therefore was no disparagement to
the divine honor that He should thus infinitely condescend. Nay, it
proved that the greatest possible likeness to God is attained by the
most complete humiliation of self. How little I have learned to practice
this lesson ! "
Meditations for Christmas . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
The Shepherds, in receiving the Angel’s tidings, were a figure of watchful priests
by VP
Posted on Wednesday December 25, 2024 at 12:00AM in Meditations
I. They Were The First To Be Called.
II. They Were The First To Be Enlightened.
III. They Were The First To Be Comforted.
"And there were in the same country, shepherds watching, and
keeping the night-watches over their flock. And behold an Angel of the
Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them,
and they feared with a great fear: and the Angel said to them: Fear
not."—St. Luke ii. 8, 9, 10.
1. And behold an Angel of the Lord stood by them.
The shepherds who kept watch over their flocks by night, were a figure
of Priests, who, as St. Ambrose says, in the night time of this present
life sleep not, but watch in order to guard the souls committed to their
care from the assaults of their spiritual enemies; and it was fitting,
as St. Ambrose says further, "that shepherds should be found watching,
and that they should be the first to receive the Heavenly Tidings, that
He, the Good Shepherd, the Pattern of Shepherds, was born." Therefore
all Priests who teach or direct souls, should remember that they
especially are called upon to adore the new-born Child. Venerable Bede
says, "Mystically speaking, they signify the pastors of the flock,
teachers also, and rulers of faithful souls." Let us then be the first
at the manger; let us contemplate this great mystery; let us be the
first to attract the glance of the Divine Child, and let us melt into
tears of tenderness, love, and compunction. He says to us: Come, make
haste, and buy of Me without price, at the expense of only asking, the
wine of strength, and the milk of consolation: "Come, make haste, buy
wine and milk . . . without any price" (Isa. lv. 1). "Come, eat My
Flesh, and drink My Blood; this is your food, this is your drink, and
therefore am I born in Bethlehem," that is, in " the House of Bread."
"Come eat My bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you"
(Prov. ix. 5). Come, you who are afflicted with misery, oppressed by the
weight of your ministry. "Come to me all you that labor, and are
burdened, and I will refresh you" (St. Matt. xi. 28). Let us go, then;
"let us go over to Bethlehem," let us imitate the shepherds, who came
with haste, and let us be the first to offer tribute to the new-born
Monarch; for the princes of the people ought to go before the people in
their acts of homage.
2. And the brightness of God shone round about them.
The light which shone round about the shepherds is an image of the
divine light with which worthy ministers of God are invested; and, as
St. Gregory says, the greater their vigilance for the salvation of
souls, the greater will be the light of grace which enlightens them; and
the more solicitous they are for the welfare of their flocks, so much
the more will they merit to understand divine truths better than others.
God, who predestined us to the priesthood, Who enlightened us with His
heavenly light from our earliest years, and gave us a clearer knowledge
of His Son than He gave to the rest of the Faithful: "He hath shined in
our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in
the face of Christ Jesus" (2 Cor. iv. 6). When we studied Dogmatic
Theology, we learned the treatise, De Incarnatione, in order that the
sublime teaching of this great mystery might be impressed on our minds;
we have often instructed the ignorant in it, we have confuted
unbelievers, we have defended its truth. One step more remains for us to
take, and it is this; to nourish our minds and hearts with the Faith
and sound doctrine, by imploring the descent of the divine light into
our souls, and so shall we be "good ministers of Christ Jesus" (1 Tim.
iv. 6). Therefore let us hasten to adore the Divine Child; let us study
Him, the pattern of humility, patience, and every virtue; let us say to
Him, with St. Bernard: "The meaner Thou makest Thyself for me, the
dearer Thou art to me." Let Thy grace be made manifest in us, bestow on
us abundance of light, for Thou hast "destroyed death, and brought to
light life and incorruption by the gospel" (2 Tim. i. 10).
3. Fear not. The Angel took away all fear from
the hearts of the shepherds; much more will Jesus Christ take away all
fear from the hearts of His Priests. He says to them now from the
manger, by His infant cries, what, on another occasion, He said in
words: "It is I, fear ye not" (St. Matt. xiv. 27). I am Who am, and you
are My ministers; whom should you fear? I am come, not to give you the
spirit of fear, which was in the Old Law, but the spirit "of power, and
of love, and of sobriety" (2 Tim. i. 7). Preach My Gospel without shame,
without weariness, without diffidence: "be not ashamed of the testimony
of Our Lord . . . but labor with the gospel according to the power of
God" (2 Tim. i. 8). Three times to-day you will offer the mighty
Sacrifice which is the source of all strength, which, as Holy Church
declares, was the support of the martyrs amidst their torments; three
times to-day you will eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, so that in the
strength of that food you may walk, even to "the Mount of God" (3 Kings
xix. 8). And we will answer Him: Jesus, be Thou my strength: come to me,
come to my soul, live in me; or, with St. Ambrose, we may say, For
otherwise what would Thy coming into the world profit me 1
"Say
to my soul, I am thy Salvation."—Ps. xxxiv. 3. "The Lord is my
strength, and my praise, and He is become my salvation." —ha. xii. 2.
The Nativity of Our Lord
by VP
Posted on Wednesday December 25, 2024 at 12:00AM in Sermons
The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ (La nativité de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ) - James Tissot
"ON a Day when God the Father speaks to us by His only Son, the Eternal Word, it cannot be less than presumption in man to speak. He ought rather in silence to give ear to what is spoken to him from Heaven, and to contemplate with admiration the wonders and mercies of this day. It is the day, when the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, made man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, was born of her in the stable of Bethlehem, and came in this humble manner to be the world's Redeemer. Approach then in spirit, Christian soul, to the manger: stand there awhile, and receive the instructions which He thence gives you.
But first, while you hear the angels saluting Him with a celestial hymn, and see the shepherds informed from Heaven, making their offerings, and adoring Him as their God, join with them, and confess Him to be your God also. Behold Him, and learn how much you are indebted to the goodness of your God, and the infinite mercy of your Redeemer. The whole world lay under the guilt of sin, and nothing but an eternal banishment from the sight of God, joined with everlasting punishment, was the unavoidable consequence of such guilt. Man was lost; and being through sin an enemy to God, it was not in his power to reverse his fate. For what could rebellious clay do to satisfy an injured God? The debt is infinite, and the unhappy debtor, poor of himself, through his offence, is become still more miserable, wretched, and worse than nothing. And though there wants not mercy ready to forgive, yet there is justice too, which must be satisfied. What remedy then for man, but to be delivered to the executioner, and cast into prison, there to abide, miserable for ever? And thus it was to be. But behold the mercy of your Redeemer; the second Person of the Blessed Trinity offers Himself to become man, that so He may be capable of being made a sacrifice for the sins of men, a sacrifice of infinite value, and more than equal to the guilt. For this end, when the fulness of time was come, ordained by God, for the accomplishment of this work of mercy, He is born of the Virgin Mary, an infant, and yet true God and man! This is the mystery, this the mercy, which the Church at present commemorates, and which you are humbly to adore with love and gratitude.
And now, in beholding this wonder of goodness, do you not see likewise what reason you have to hope, and place your whole confidence in God? When you consider yourself, and discover nothing there but weakness and repeated relapses into sin, it is enough to make you tremble and despair; but viewing here the infinite tenderness and compassion of God, and how great things He has done for your salvation, have you not in this sufficient motives to raise your hopes, to trust in this mercy, and rejoice in so plentiful a redemption? It is now evident, that God wills not the death of a sinner, since He has done so much to regain him to life. And how can you fear that He will refuse you mercy, who has given you His only Son, through whom you may obtain it? What is yet to come, is much less than what He has already done for you: it being much more wonderful for God to become man, than for a sinner to find mercy through such a Redeemer. God will not leave His work imperfect: hope then, and let not your hopes end but with your life.
And does not this goodness of God towards man, teach you the great obligation of loving God, with all your heart, and with all your soul? For what could God do more for you than He has here done? Consider this mystery yet again you say that you believe it; but have you ever seriously reflected upon what you believe? Have you ever thought how infinite must the love of God be, in sending His only Son to be made man, to expose Him to all that is here contemptible, and after cruel torments, to die upon a cross; and all this that man might be saved, that sinful dust and ashes might be exalted to glory? And is there not in this, even in your poor manner of considering it, something wonderful, and worthy of your love? Blush then and be confounded at all your past ingratitude and insensibility, who having so much to love in God, yet love Him so little. If all the moments of your life had been employed in giving your heart to Him, it would have been much short of what is due. But now, having given Him so very few, or none, what can you say, but bewail your misery, and profess that you stand in need of all the mercy of your God? Make some amends however now; and fix this thought so deeply within your soul, that you may be no longer capable of this stupidity.
But what hopes are there of your loving Jesus, if you have no regard to those lessons, which He teaches you? He is Lord of Heaven and earth; and yet, renouncing all the state and magnificence of the world, see in what an humble manner He comes. He has all the treasures of the earth at command, and see how great is His poverty. He has all the legions of angels to wait His pleasure, and see how He is exposed to contempt. There is no place for Him in the town; the best accommodation is taken up by others; a stable is His palace, an ox and an ass are His attendants. All this is what He chose, as most agreeable to the work which He had undertaken, and most proper for giving a true idea of the things of this world to such as desire to be His followers. Not that He requires all to renounce riches, and all manner of state; but that He would not have Christians to value themselves by their possessions or attendants, or place their satisfaction or happiness in them, or love them, or think those contemptible who have them not. For if one pretends to be a follower of Christ, and admires that only which Christ contemned, and undervalues that which Christ chose, it is plain that such a one has only the name, without the spirit of a Christian.
Behold then the model before you, and be assured that Christ chose what was best for Him, and safest for you. And since you find in Him solitude, poverty, want of comforts, hardships, and a separation from the world; you cannot question but that all the happiness of a Christian may be found in these. Though they are not sanctified in themselves, they are still the ordinary way which leads to all those interior virtues, in which the spirit of Christ resides. And if, upon serious consideration of what you here behold in Him, you afterwards cast your eye upon yourself, and see there not only inclinations, but affections and practices kept up, encouraged, and followed, which are quite contrary to what you are here taught; if you are ever solicitous to please yourself, seek whatever delights, are bent on your own ease, love to be admired, labour to be great in the world, are impatient at the want of every convenience, unhappy when contemned, and the like, can you be at peace with yourselves, and think that you love your Lord? Ah, Christian! deceive not yourself; you cannot love Christ, and have such a dislike for what He does: you cannot truly love Him, and yet forsake His ways. Pretend not, therefore, to this love, unless you can show it in your life, as well as in your words: unless you can give proof of a mortified and humble heart, and are either really poor, or poor in spirit.
If you are in earnest, give new proof of it; for you have now the opportunity before you. At this time, the world calls upon you to join with it in many extravagancies. It pretends to rejoice indeed for the birth of a Redeemer; but in general its joy is such as would better suit a pagan festival, than the commemoration of the birth of Christ; there being scarcely any sort of excess, which has not authority and custom to give it credit. The cover of all this is, because it is the time of Christ's Nativity. It is true that there is great reason for Christians to rejoice at the yearly commemoration of so great a mercy; but still it ought to be with a Christian joy, in giving praise and adoration to the Author of this mercy: Glory be to God on high. And if more than ordinary relaxation be then allowed, ought not everything to be done with moderation, decency, innocence, and good order? Certainly, when we renew the memory of the greatest blessing, it ought to be the Christian's care to avoid every thing that can be displeasing to Him, from whose bounty they flow. It must be criminal ingratitude to be then most wicked, when they ought to be most religious; and can it be considered less than madness, to celebrate the mercy of our being Christians, with the licentiousness of heathens? And what is it else, when at this, above other times, we see such a gate opened to all kinds of intemperance, in gluttony, drunkenness, revelling, and gaming, and a variety of disorders as the natural consequence of these? Can this be esteemed a Christian joy, an acknowledgment of blessings, a thanksgiving for mercies? And yet you are pressed to take part in this. Here then let the trial be of what you have professed: let this determine which shall command, Christ or the world, in your soul. The world will not be wanting in suggesting motives to prevail: it will pretend moderation and good; and under this cover decoy you into all excess. But prepare now against it, and beg grace to stand your ground. Beseech your Redeemer to be your strength, offer your heart for His abode, invite Him from the manger; but see that your soul be prepared for such a guest. The ox and the ass offend Him not but if you have any beast, and brutal passion within you, remember that the stable is much the fittest place for you.
Be constant then, to what you have resolved. Let the example of St. Anastasia, that holy virgin and martyr, who is commemorated on this day, give you courage. Surrendering her life to Christ on this day, when Christ was born for her, she made in this the best return she could for so great a mercy. Thus she has taught you a mortifying lesson on this day of joy but it was what she learned of Him,
who came to be a sacrifice for her. Beg to be well instructed in this
school; offer now your life to Christ at His first entrance into the world. Hasten in among the first; and till He shall demand your life, be ready to forsake for Him whatever He shall demand of you. If it be what you cannot renounce, but with great difficulty and violence to yourself, look on the work which He has undertaken, and see whether you ought not to blush at your own niceness, and be ashamed of serving a suffering Lord, no farther than you can do it at your ease. Niceness, self-love, and ease, become not the follower of such a Master." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
The True Nature of Christmas
by VP
Posted on Tuesday December 24, 2024 at 12:00AM in Books
Our Lady of Grace, Greensboro, NC
"Today, Christmas is celebrated without Christ in many quarters. Christmas is the season when God became man in the form of a child, and yet, unhappily, in how many homes, because Christ is uninvited, children, too, are no longer welcome. Christmas, like Emmanuel, means "God with us". If we celebrated Christmas without God, we have lost its meaning. If we refuse an inn to God's children as the fruit of marriage, we repeat the sad tale of Bethlehem that refused an inn to Mary and Joseph and the Child.
Christmas means Christ's Mass. But the protestant revolt has denied the true sacrifice of the Mass. It has uprooted His altar and replaced it with a pulpit. There are some who profess to be ministers of Christ and yet deny his Divinity.
The Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament has been removed from their altars and the voice of man has usurped His place. The pivot and focal point of the Protestant Church is not the altar but the pulpit. Man's presence has replaced God's presence; private interpretation has taken the place of God's authority.
Christ is sacrificed in the Mass and the Mass is Christ present with us. Take away the tabernacle of God and, since nature abhors a vacuum, the pulpit of man is ushered in to replace it. Remove the Mass, where Christ is offered and adored, and the result is that man is dehumanized whereas he should be super-naturalized. Man exalts himself instead of humbling himself and adoring God. Without God man is not even himself. He is dehumanized. He is less than man. For man, as God made him, is just a little less than the angels.
Christmas today, for the average worldling, means feasting and food, a holiday, with tinsel and tree, and an exchange of gifts. It is externalized and made pagan in its concept.
It should mean attendance at Mass - at Christ's Mass on Christmas day. It should be a day of great dignity, of rejoicing as evidenced in a temperate use of food and drink and a meeting of loved ones under the star and spirit of Bethlehem. It should mean not so much a receiving as a giving to Christ's poor in imitation of God who gave Himself to the poor in the greatest gifts - His only-begotten Son.
(...)
In thinking of Christmas we always conjure up in our mind's eye the happy days of childhood, the memory of our parents who may have passed on to God's Judgment, and of our early home - all these are most joyous recollections. Certainly Advent should not be observed as a lugubrious or melancholy manner. Penance is a joy when it is performed for God. When imposed upon us for a selfish motive it is a drudgery.
These Advent days, then, can be most joyful, our recollection of former years can be most happy if we dedicate them to God. In simple terms, we can be happiest when all things are in harmony and in their proper place. This is the definition of health. This is the understanding of peace - the "tranquility of order."
Source: Preface of Spiritual Steps to Christmas, Very Rev. Msgr. Aloysius Coogan, MA 1953
