Christmas Day 2007 is upon us, and at Midnight Masses across the country, Catholics are singing "Joy to the world / the Lord is come!" In Eastern Rite Catholic churches, the refrain is a little different, and yet still the same: "Christ is born! Glorify Him!"
Our Advent wait is over; Christ is born in Bethlehem. God's plan of salvation rests on this tiny Child, who contains the whole of the Godhead in His wondrous Body. As we celebrate His Birth, we remember that we still await His Second Coming. In that sense, our Advent continues, though it is an Advent filled with joy, as we strive every day to conform our lives to Him, with the help of His grace.
Throughout the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord in the Byzantine Catholic Church, the people sing:
God is with us!
God is with us!
Understand all ye nations
And submit yourselves
And submit yourselves
For God is with us!
That is our Christmas message. Now is the time of our salvation, if only we submit ourselves humbly to the Lord of All, Who humbled Himself to become a man like us.
Merry Christmas to everyone! Christ is born! Glorify Him!
I’m looking for someone who has read “Flight From God” by Max Picard