Graces at Christmas and in the New Year, from St. Anthony of Padua

May God bless all of you who support the Confraternity of Penitents with your prayers and in other ways. As a thanks to you, we share this reflection from St. Anthony of Padula. May you have a blessed Christmas and a joyful new year.
 

This shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. [Lk 2.12]

This shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. [Lk 2.12]

Notice these two things: humility and poverty. Happy the man who receives this sign on his forehead and in his hand (that is, in word and deed). What do the words, You shall find the infant, mean, if not: You will find wisdom babbling, power made week, majesty laid low, the immense made small, the rich made poor, the Lord of angels lying in a stable, and the Food of angels made like the fodder of animals, the unlimited confined to a narrow manger? This, then, will be  sign to you, so that you do not perish like the Egyptians or the people of Jericho.

And so, glory be to God the Father on high, and in earth peace to men of good will, for the Word Incarnate, for the Virgin giving birth, and for the Savior being born. Maybe he who is blessed forever deign to bestow that same glory on us. Amen.

--St. Anthony of Padua, Sermons for Sundays and Festivals, trans. Paul Spilsbury. Padova, Italia: Messaggero di Sant' Antonio Editrice, 2010. vol. iv, pp. 8-9

The Child Sleeping in the Manger Is the Word Made Flesh

 “A holy day has dawned upon us. Come you nations and adore the Lord. Today a great light has come upon the earth.” This is the Gospel Acclamation for Christmas.

The night is past and a new day has dawned. Christmas is a celebration of cosmic hope because, on that day, we celebrate the birth of Christ, the Savior of the human race.

When Mary gave birth to Jesus, she brought forth the Light of the Nations, Who was to dispel the darkness brought about by the sin of Adam and Eve.

In the shadows and the silence of that holy night, a great and inextinguishable light shone forth for all to see, giving rise to an inexpressible joy that has been touched with glory.

The Child sleeping in the manger is the Word made flesh, the long awaited hope of the world.

The story began when “the earth was formless and desolate and when the depths were cloaked in darkness” (Gen.1:2). In the middle of the night, while peaceful silence wrapped all things and the shepherds of Israel were keeping watch over the flock entrusted to them, the Word of God leaped down from heaven.

Christmas is the day on which the great light shines forth, expelling the darkness of sin and death. The creator and sustainer of the world became a man in order to fill fallen humanity with the grandeur of His divinity.

On that first Christmas, a great light had come upon the earth. The light is Christ. He had come to us as the Prince of Peace and as the Lord of Lords.

Christ comes still. He comes to offer himself to all people as the sure hope for salvation.

He is the Word that issued forth from the Heart of the Father, through whom all things were made and in whom all things continue in existence.

What was once formless and void, confusion and emptiness has become a new creation in Christ.

In the Light of Christ, all creation proclaims the grandeur of God, and night unto night makes known the Good News of salvation.

We are the people who have walked in darkness and who have been overwhelmed by the shadow of death and gloom (Cf. Is. 9:2). Wherever the birth of the Word made Flesh is announced, light shines forth because a holy day has dawned upon us.

We have reason to celebrate because the Light of the Nations has come into the world. The child born to us is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of old. He is the long awaited consolation of Israel and the Savior of mankind. We gather to adore Him who is called Wonderful Counselor.

Our hearts overflow in song because the Eternal Word of the Father has taken flesh of the Virgin Mary and has made the love of the Almighty Father tangible. The song begun that silent night has echoed throughout the universe. All creation declares the wonders God has done.

We have heard the Good News announcing the Birth in the Flesh of the Eternal Word. God has done marvelous things. We celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary’s Son Who is also the Son of the Father and the Bearer of the Holy Spirit. Charles Wesley penned these words:

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate deity! Pleased as Man with man to appear: Jesus, our Emmanuel here. 


In times past, God spoke to his ancient people in various and sundry ways. Jesus, Whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, is the culmination of God´s revelation to the world. His humble birth in Bethlehem was heralded by choirs of angels announcing peace to the world.

The child concealed in a stone-cold cave is the light for the peoples, a splendor that calls the world into the newness of day. In the Child of Bethlehem we see the power, wisdom and grandeur of God.

In the innocence of this Child we see the re-creation of the human race. Reworking the clay, the One without Whom nothing was made, left His mark on each earthen vessel and once again affirmed us in His image and likeness.

Gazing into the Face of God’s Son we see the true Light that dispels the darkness of sin and death. He walked among us so that we might walk with Him along the path that leads to our heavenly home.

Words fail us. How can we ever be thankful enough that God has, in so many ways and with such fidelity to His Word, repeatedly spoken to us concerning our salvation? Not only that, but, having sent prophet after prophet, He chose to enter into our human nature so as to cleanse us from our sins. Truly, a holy day has dawned upon us!

In the town of Bethlehem, the Virgin Mary gave birth to the Only-begotten Son of God. By taking to Himself our human nature, the Eternal Word has become the image of the invisible God (Cf. Col. 1:15).

Let us adore the Master of the Universe and the Creator of all that exists. Let us kneel in reverent silence before the manger and acknowledge our Lord and God.

Each of the Christmas Gospels make it clear that the birth of Christ was the result of God’s merciful plan. The passage from John’s Prologue makes it clear that the re-creation of the world was God’s intention from the first moment of Creation.

Thanks to the Gospel accounts of stars, angelic choir and exotic visitors, we can see the glory of the Father’s only Son with the eyes of faith. Through Jesus, we have come to know the love and goodness of God. We have come to know the forgiveness and mercy of God who has never forgotten his people.


“A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. Today a great light has come upon the earth”.

On Christmas we venerate the immensity of God’s love revealed in a tiny baby. We celebrate the day God made Himself small so He could enlarge our hearts. Born of the ever-virgin Mary, He became a child to attract us with love and to touch our hearts with His humble goodness.

We hear the Good News of Salvation proclaimed by an infant, one who is unable to speak.

The darkness has been dispelled by the fire of divine love that burns in the heart of the Christ child that is wrapped in swaddling clothes and sleeps in a manger.

The promise is affirmed. If we place our burdens in the tiny hands of the new-born Savior, we will find rest, and rejoicing will be ours.

Let us come to Bethlehem and adore the Lord who saves us from the darkness of sin and makes us children of God. “I invite you, then, to pause before the Nativity scene, for there God's tenderness speaks to us. There we contemplate divine mercy, made flesh so that we gaze tenderly upon it. Above all, it wishes to move our hearts” (Pope Francis).

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

The Meaning of Christmas

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.  

 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  

 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.  

 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. (John 1:1-18)

  

At Christmas we pray that the blessings of the Christ Child will be with all we meet. We gather to celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior. He is the Eternal Word Who entered into our world and took to Himself our humanity.  In the stillness of the night the shepherds heard the angels proclaim the birth of the Light of the World Who came into the world to free those who were in bondage and darkness. Christmas is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad because God has come to dwell among us. On Christmas we are invited to lay our burdens down at the foot of the manger and take into our arms the Lord Who came to us as a helpless infant so we could love Him. 

The Prologue to the Gospel of Saint John does not recount the birth scene in Bethlehem. Unlike the other Christmas Gospels, this passage seldom makes it into music. There is no mention of herald angels singing, no shepherds watching, no cattle lowing, no stars brightly shining, no little town of Bethlehem, no swaddling clothes, and no Mary and Joseph. Despite the lack of these customary details, the text tells us the reason for the season. On Christmas, we are celebrating the mystery of the Eternal Word becoming a wordless infant so that we might learn the language of love. No longer speaking through emissaries, God utters His ultimate word. The heavens have been thrown open and the Light of the Nations has manifested the salvation of our God. The innocence of the newborn Savior has touched the hearts of men and women throughout the world and shown them how to love. 

Even though many did not and do not accept Him, the light of Christ shines out as a beacon of hope for all who find themselves trapped in darkness and sin. On Christmas, the Lord whom heaven and earth cannot contain, came forth from Mary’s virginal womb. His birth was proclaimed by the angelic hosts and the stars of heaven. The announcement was too great to be contained or silenced. Christ is born to us and all creation declares the presence of the Word made Flesh in our midst. The birth of the Prince of Peace makes known to all people of good will the path to peace and reconciliation. God became man so that the children of Adam and Eve might be remade in the image of God. 

The people who lived in darkness have learned to walk in the Light. The Word that first called creation into existence today calls all of the children of Adam and Eve to newness of life. The birth of the Light of the World has scattered the darkness that shrouded the world and has given us reason to rejoice and be glad. Overcome by the joy of this day, our whole being becomes a proclamation of the Good News. One who rejoices cannot contain the gladness he encounters. Rejoicing gives evidence of our integral relationships with God and all the members of the human race. 

We have reason to rejoice because Christ has brought the light of glory into our world. The Light of Christ shines upon us and enables us to overcome our own darkness. The Light of Christ floods the darkness of our lives; it shines on the margins and places that seem totally devoid of joy and happiness. The birth of Christ has broken down all barriers that separate the human race from God. In times past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets. In our time, the Word He spoke took flesh and was incarnate by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Let us raise our voices and sing the hymn of the new creation. We sing this hymn so that the world may believe in Christ and lay claim to their birthright as heirs of the Kingdom. God loves us so much that He chose to become one of us and by so doing made possible our eternal happiness. Let us dance and sing and announce the birth of Our King. 

My brothers and sisters, the Son of God has been given to us. Let the holy infant capture your heart. Allow Him to draw you nearer to the Father's heart. Today we rejoice for the One who is among us now, enabling us to live his life of compassion and kindness towards the least. He has commanded us to love one another, has made it possible for us because, “From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace….” Let us live the newness of life He has brought us and not only sing the Good News that has appeared for us but become living gospels for all we meet.  

Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

December 23 over Two Thousand Years Ago

We do not know the exact day on which Jesus was born. But let us say that it was December 25 over two thousand years ago. Let's imagine the Holy Family on that day.

Nazareth. Mary is sweeping the house. Joseph is at work in the carpenter shop. She has prepared swaddling clothes for the baby very soon to be born. He has carved a cradle. They await each day with excitement and a little trepidation. A son whose birth is announced by an angel. Whatever will this child be? Do they have the grace and wisdom to parent him?

That day a centurion rides into town. The emperor has declared a census. Everyone must leave at once for his ancestral home to be be counted. Mary and Joseph hear the news. Leave? Today? This is a great burden. Mary is about to give birth. They had their home ready to welcome the child. Now they must leave. Right now. Today. Of course, many other people are in the same situation, having to pack up and leave, now.

Joseph stops working on the table he is making for a neighbor and begins to ready the donkey. Mary begins to pack. She wads up the swaddling clothes and puts them into a pouch. She finds changes of clothing for her and Joseph. This should not take too many days. But the baby could be born before they come back so she must be ready just in case. There is hustle and bustle, much hurried preparation. Mary and Joseph secure their house and leave.

Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem

Joseph is heading to Bethlehem because he is of the house of David and Bethlehem is the city of David's birth. He imagines that the place could be crowded. He hopes they can find a place to stay. But there is no way to reserve a room--no cell phones, internet, carrier pigeons. So the Holy Family goes out, a long walk on foot with a donkey, having no idea what lies ahead except that Joseph will register for the census and then they will return to Nazareth.

December 23, over two thousand years ago. Why is this happening?

Caesar Augustus has no idea that he is being an agent of God. Joseph is not thinking about the fact that Bethlehem means "house of bread." Mary has no inkling that Jesus will call Himself "the Bread of Life." Did Anna and Joachim go with Joseph and Mary or did they stay behind in Nazareth? Did Joseph and Mary bid them good bye, thinking they would see them within a few days or a week? Did anyone think that the root of Jesse was about to blossom again?

The Holy Family had no thought that this baby would be born in a cave or that they would soon thereafter flee to Egypt, a country they never intended to visit. They had no idea that they would not return to Nazareth after their trek to Bethlehem. Anna and Joachim would never dream that they would not see their grandchild until he was seven years old.

December 23, over 2000 years ago. The humility of God to be born an infant. The power of God to work out where and when. The wisdom of God to have the birth happen amid this confusing and unanticipated way.

Where are you now, December 23 of this year? What lies ahead? You know not, but do you have to know since God does know? Can you draw up your trust today as did Mary and Joseph and go forward, without having your questions answered but in surrender to the will of God?

Lord, give us the grace to do so.

(Adapted from a homily by Father David Engo, FBM)

How a Catholic Family Can Prepare for Christmas

Families start to prepare for Christmas at Thanksgiving. Maybe before Thanksgiving. This year I went home for Thanksgiving. And priests do this kind of musical chairs thing. We all kind of move around and take care of each other’s parishes so we can get home and see each our families on the holidays. So I was saying Mass at the parish where my parents live when I went home for Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving night I got an emergency call. This is not uncommon.

We get these calls where we have to go to the hospital and give someone the last rites. No big deal. I am used to going out at 3 o’clock in the morning to do this. A lot of people think that we would be tired, but we’re not tired. The Lord is really good. He gives us the grace, we get the call, and off we go. When He calls, we’re ready. Normally, this is not an issue in the middle the night. So I’m in my car at 3 AM on the way to the hospital and I am saying to myself, “Where did all this traffic come from? This is the day after Thanks . . . OOOH!” There were literally lines at all the lights and all of them heading to the mall. And I was feeling so profoundly grateful that I was not among them. I was so thankful to the Lord because I was on a hospital run. I was absolutely flabbergasted that there were this many people out at this time of the morning to go shopping. And I was very profoundly thankful because, while the world moves in a certain motion, my life is so different.

It takes the radio, it takes TV, it takes getting up at 3 AM on Black Friday morning to make me recognize the pattern the world undertakes. And I am so thankful for that because all of us Christians are called to live lives radically different from the world, to set our priorities different. Now I am not saying that all those people who got up at some ungodly hour to go shopping were sinning. I can say I think you are nuts, but you were not necessarily sinning. Necessarily. 

In Advent we are all called to set ourselves apart. The world is in the commercial Christmas mode during Advent. Christmas music is playing. Everything is starting. Shopping is ramped up. Everything is going into Christmas mania. But the Church, and God through the Church, is asking you to draw back. To draw back before we go and get sucked into the culture and sucked into all of the things that are, in a sense, good things. Before that happens, the Lord wants us to remember first the ultimate thing. When Christ came thousands of years ago to save us, he came as a little child. But there is an equal reality that he will indeed come again. And when he comes again, he will not come as a little child. He will come as Lord and Savior and judge.

One of the readings in Advent says this.

I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, “Fear not, I will help you.” Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will help you, says the LORD; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and double-edged, to thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff. When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off and the storm shall scatter them. But you shall rejoice in the LORD, and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open up rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. I will plant in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine, that all may see and know,
observe and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isaiah 41: 13-20)

Did you hear this? "O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel." That is quite a shocker, isn’t it? Man! Harsh words from the Lord! That is gross. Yuck. What is the Lord trying to say? Doesn't the Lord like Israel anymore? No! It's not that the Lord doesn't like Israel anymore. What he is saying is, “Wake up, Israel! You are nothing without me. Without me, you are not the chosen people. Without me, you will have no good things in your life. Without me, you can do nothing. You are as helpless as a maggot. You are as weak as a worm.” 

And that is a message for us today, that without God we can do nothing, but with God everything is possible. You hear that in this passage. "The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them." They can't  get water themselves. God will give it to them.

Now in this reading, God does not stop there. He goes on to talk about all these different kinds of trees. And what is the deal with all of those trees? Listen again. " I will plant in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine, that all may see and know, observe and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it." He was saying that he is going to plant those trees in places where they ought not to be able to to grow, but he is going to grow them because he is the Lord God and anything is possible. That is the number one thing we need to remember from this passage. Without God we are nothing. Without God, I am just Jacob Meyer. Poor little Jacob Meyer. I am nothing. Without God, where is my hope? Without God, where is where is my strength? Without God, where is my best friend who is always there for me? Without God, we are all no better than maggots. 

But we all sometimes live our lives as if God does not matter. We live our lives as if God is not a part of them. There are days when we wake up and we live our day and we go to bed and we never even think of God and how he loves us, how he sustains us in our day. What the Lord is saying is that is the greatest tragedy--to go a single day without thinking about God and about how much he loves you. For you to go a single day without asking him for help--that is a tragedy. Because he is there and is waiting to hear from you. We have to love him. We have to ask him. 

Whoever has ears ought to hear, says the Gospel. The Gospel says that John the Baptist is Elijah, the one coming into the world who will prepare the way for the Lord. Everyone who has ears ought to hear. Does anyone not have ears here? No one is earless this morning. Which means you want to hear. Which means you want to listen and pay attention.  John the Baptist came into this world and he said to prepare the way of the Lord. The ultimate thing is that the Lord came and we need him because without him, we are nothing.

When Christ came thousands of years ago to save us, he came as a little child. But there is an equal reality that he will indeed come again. And when he comes again, he will not come as a little child. He will come as Lord and Savior and judge. And we need to prepare for him.

So what are you doing to prepare the way of the Lord? What are you doing? Hopefully you are praying more. Hopefully you are going to go to confession. Clean up the soul. Make ready the path for God. Ultimately how about being an instrument of peace. Is this is a stressful time right now? Kids have tests before Christmas break. Teachers are trying to get caught up on school work. Kids have their mothers at them for cleaning the house because company is coming over. You got Christmas parties. You gotta get ready for Christmas. You got all these different things to do. You got to bake or help bake Christmas cookies but you are not allowed to eat them yet, Oh, the injustice!

All these things you have to do. But do not forget that in the midst of doing all these things, there are more important things. What is the state of your soul right now? What is the state of your heart right now? In all of that stress, are you going to be an instrument of peace? Or you going to be an instrument of consternation? You have a choice, don't you? If you are a kid, you can be the kid who is trying to be peaceable with your siblings, who is trying to be kind and generous and faithful and good. Or you can be a hellion. "No, that is my Xbox! No, it's mine!" And then what? Your parents have to get involved. Kids, think about your parents. Will you do this for me because I have all these other things going on? Will you do the dishes and take out the trash? Kids, are you going to say yes enthusiastically and go do it or you going to give mom a hard time? These are your choices. 

Prepare the way of the Lord. Do not put obstacles in the Lord’s path. Try kindness, generosity, charity. Try to bring calm and peace among the siblings. Try to be that wonder kid toward your parents. It will go well for you. Because the happier your parents are, the better Christmas will be. And you know that that is true. You have a vested interest in this, my friends. A vested interest and ultimately, it is your choice. Because without God we are not nothing. But with him we are the most blessed of all peoples.

We are called to think about this reality during Advent. We have work to do. God became a little baby at Christmas to start the work, and it is only finished through each of us. For each of us, our salvation began at the Incarnation, but for each of us it will not end until we become clay in the hands of the Potter, until we make ourselves moldable so that the Lord can make us into what He wants us to be. Just think about it right now. Parents, you are all transforming all of your worlds and your homes to look like little Christmas Wonderland’s. There are utterly insane lights going up at all angles on every building. You are climbing on ladders to transform the present landscape into something that is magnificent. The Lord wishes is to do the very same thing in our lives. He wishes to mold us. He wishes to enlighten our lives to change so that we might be the creation that He calls us to be.

We need to be a watchful people, be ready for when He comes again. How do we get ready? How do we become watchful? Many of you have had times in your life when you are trying to stay awake. Little kids, maybe it is when you are waiting for Santa. For us older people, it might be many different things. Maybe it is waiting for the ball to drop on New Year’s Eve. Whatever it is, we were trying to stay awake. If you are trying to stay awake, you gotta have a game plan. You need coffee. Mountain Dew. You need an uncomfortable chair. You need anything but your bed because if you go about the things that you normally would, you become comfortable and the natural things of the world take over and you fall asleep. 

Similarly if we are to watch for Christ, we must do things out of the ordinary to keep ourselves awake. What are those things that are out of the ordinary? Fasting. Prayer. Now this is going to make teenagers very nervous. I think the one thing you need to do to be watchful and ready is to have a blackout on TV and your phones. There is nothing that will change the regular pattern of your life like that. These things have become surgically attached to us so that we do not know ourselves without them. They are like our new puppy that we take everywhere with us. How many times do you check CNN? 14 a day at least. There should be a blackout on this. Your family can decide what the blackout time is. Mom, collect the phones, turn off the TV. I don’t particularly care what you do at that point. I would love it if you spent that time in prayer, but you are probably not going to spend all the time in prayer. But even if you have a short prayer to begin it and then you just go about your time with a greater sense of contemplation, with just a sense of silence, you will have created moments when you can be clay in the Potter’s hands. We need to give God a chance to work on us, to show us where to go. 

We pray the Our Father often, at Mass every Sunday at least but, hopefully, every day. And we pray “Thy Kingdom come.” We are anticipating the second coming of Christ. We are praying for the second coming. Or do we say, “Thy Kingdom come but not today?” Or “Thy Kingdom come but just not yet. I’m having too much fun.”

Do you mean “Thy Kingdom come?” Are you alert? Are you awake? Does your heart know that someday you will meet your Savior and your judge? So here is what to do. Blackout your TV and phones and schedule your confession time. Today. Today schedule it. You are going to go to confession to make your heart ready to receive the Lord. And from now until Christmas, set aside a time every single day when you can have personal prayer. Maybe a set blackout time. Maybe not. This does not have to be long. From now until Christmas, set a specific time each day when you can pray, “Lord help me get ready. Lord, help me to be more faithful. Lord, help me be vigilant.” Then as the world continues around you, as the world becomes like 3 AM on Black Friday morning, you can have that understanding that this world is not what I was made for. I have a Savior who loves me so much that, not only does He love me, but He will come to take me with Him, and when that happens I want to be ready. 

--Father Jacob Meyer, Visitor, Confraternity of Penitents