Cycle A - Year I:  

25 December 2022: The Nativity of the Lord (Mass during the day) 

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading:        Isaiah 52:7-10

Second Reading:   Hebrews 1:1-6

Gospel:  Please Read  John 1:1-18 (1:1-5, 9-14) 

A Child is born to us!

The whole world celebrates this great and blessed DAY as we welcome and proclaim the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! The Psalmist sings beautifully for us: "All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God." (Ps 98)   JESUS is the Incarnate Word, who reveals God the Father to us!

The prophet Isaiah has foretold this event in the old days: "A child is born to us, and a son is given to us; his scepter of power rests upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Messenger of great counsel." (Is 9:5)    Christmastide is the fulfillment of God's saving plan in the world.

TODAY we proclaim to the whole world: "Glory to God in the highest! For this day the Almighty gives His greatest Gift to us all, the Gift of His beloved Son."     

All our preparations in our Advent journey, and the nine-day Novena-Masses or Misa de Aguinaldo culminate in the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So let the whole world rejoice and be glad for our Messiah is born today! We are overwhelmed with joy and hope that light up our darkness.

The evangelist St. John in the introduction to his Gospel summarizes  for his audience everything that he wanted to say about Jesus of Nazareth. John expresses the divinity of Christ. Jesus was there in the very beginning (that means, the beginning before anything else has been begun); in that time Jesus was with God and He was God; nothing was made without Him because it was all created through Him; and in Him is life for all men.  For Jesus is God's creative, life-giving and light-giving Word that has come to earth in human form. Indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ is truly Man while remaining truly God.

It is only through Jesus Christ that we can behold the glory of God. Jesus became the partaker of our humanity so that we could also be partakers of His divinity.  So then at Christmas we do not only hear God's words of joy and peace; we experience the presence of God in our midst, Emmanuel. It is our experience of God's presence among us through Jesus Christ that is life-giving.

Today we reflect on the significance and importance of the Christmas event in our lives. We continue to proclaim anew the wonder of the Incarnation: "The Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it.  The Son of God... worked with human hands; He thought with a human mind; He acted with a human will; and with a human heart He loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, He was truly been made one of us in all things except sin." (Gaudium et Spes)   

In prayer let us reflect more deeply the meaning of the birth of Christ for us today in our particular situation. The government has eased up on the pandemic restrictions, so we will be able to attend Mass to celebrate Jesus' birth. 

Christmas is the perfect time to celebrate the love of God. For Jesus is God's perfect Gift, indescribable Gift to humanity. It is amazing that as we receive God's Gift of His Son, we are also able to share our Savior with others on Christmas Day through our witnessing of love and charity to others, especially those who need them most during this difficult time in our history.

My heart is filled with joy as I greet everyone of my family and friends, my readers and followers... A Blessed and Merry Christmas 2022! Thank you for a moment with God.

HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY, BABY LORD JESUS! 

Ad Jesum per Mariam!