“Kiss the feet of the baby Jesus, who lies in the manger, and pray that the Holy Virgin will allow you to hold Him. Take Him between your arms, hold Him and see His lovable face, kiss it with reverence and rejoice with Him. You can do this because He has come to bring salvation to sinners and He has humbly conversed with them, finally giving Himself as food.” +Saint Bonaventure

Monday, December 25 | Solemnity of Christmas | The Birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God 

Holy Gospel: Luke 2:1-14

Prayer: O God, who gladden us year by year as we wait in hope for our redemption grant that, just as we joyfully welcome your Only Begotten Son as our Redeemer, we may also merit to face him confidently when he comes again as our Judge. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: On Christmas Day, it remains only for us to find in the Gospel, as we find in all the words of the Holy Gospels, the answer as to what we should do in response to the gift that has been given to us, the song that has fallen on our ears from angelic voices. And the answer is there; the birth of this mystery­—of love triumphant in the face of evil - is Christ as He came to life from the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, and Christ, as we come to life in Him, through the Sacrament we share. Let us pray that our Christmas will be filled with the song of this life, and that our love will conquer all things contrary to Christ, so that we may follow the Son sent by God to redeem us, and do so with love and fidelity to the truths of Christ.

On the Birth of Jesus, the Son of God: Today is the great solemnity that shows the world that the Word Incarnate, the Savior of mankind, is finally born. God becoming truly man is an enormous event [….]. Something truly happens that goes beyond any evolutionary process: the fusion of man and God, the creature and the Creator. It is not the progression of another step in the evolutionary process, but the eruption of a personal action, founded on love, that from this point forward reveals to men new space and possibilities. (Joseph Ratzinger in God and the World: A Conversation with Peter Seewald, 2001, p. 197). Christmas says to us: alone we can’t profoundly change the world to remedy it. Alone, we can make the world better or worse, but we can’t save it. Christ came therefore, because left to ourselves, we couldn’t escape the “mortal disease” that has enveloped us from the first moment of conception in our mother’s womb. This gives us hope, true hope, and true Christian optimism: I can’t do it but He is there! This is the mystery of grace synthesized in the human figure of God incarnate. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are moments of contemplation. We consider, in many dimensions, the mystery of love that was incarnated for us. First of all, we contemplate the light and joy, without forgetting Jesus and Mary’s sorrows and sufferings, and the many difficulties that had surrounded them: the cold, the uncomfortable place, the dangers…. It would be good to accompany these thoughts by reciting and meditating slowly on the Holy Rosary, preferably in front of a crib. “Blessed grotto of Bethlehem that testified to the wonders! Who, in this hour would not turn our hearts? Who would not prefer the opulent palace of the King?” (P. Guéranger, L’Anno Liturgico, Alba 1959 [orig. franc. 1841], I, p122).

Tuesday, December 26 | Saint Stephen

Holy Gospel: Matthew 10:17-22 

Prayer: Grant, Lord, we pray, that we may imitate what we worship, and so learn to love even our enemies, for we celebrate the heavenly birthday of a man who knew how to pray even for his persecutors. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: There are some today who say “religion divides.” When we hear this, today’s gospel should come to mind, because so many routinely turn their back on God and on his Son, Jesus Christ. By their actions, they are the ones who actually cause division—not those who live their lives in faith of God or his Son Jesus Christ—because by their actions and their lifestyles they freely choose to not follow the laws of God and the teachings of Christ; in doing so, they separate themselves from the way, the truth, and the life of Christ. The beauty of this situation, though, is that God always welcomes back those who have sinned, those who have strayed. God sent his Son into this world to teach us right from wrong, to shepherd and guide us, and to lead us on the path to eternal life. With a contrite heart through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we can confess our sins, receive absolution, and get back in Christ’s fold. What a great thing to do in the Christmas Season—and any time of the year, for that matter!

Wednesday, December 27 | Saint John

Holy Gospel: John 20:1a, 2-8 

Prayer: O God, who through the blessed Apostle John have unlocked for us the secrets of your Word, grant, we pray, that we may grasp with proper understanding what he has so marvelously brought to our ears. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: John in his first epistle testifies: What we have seen, heard, and touched we proclaim as the word of life which existed “from the beginning” (1 John 1:1-4). John bears witness to what has existed from all eternity. This “word of life” is Jesus the word incarnate, whose birth we just celebrated, but also Jesus as the word announced by the prophets and Jesus the word now preached throughout the Christian church for all ages to come. One thing is certain, if Jesus had not risen from the dead and appeared to his disciples, we would never have heard of him. Nothing else could have changed sad and despairing men and women into people radiant with joy and courage. The reality of the resurrection is the central fact of the Christian faith. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord gives us “eyes of faith” to know him and the power of his Resurrection. The greatest joy we can have is to encounter the living Christ, sent by God into this world to save and redeem us, to teach us how to live our lives, to shepherd and guide us on the path that leads to eternal life. Get to know Christ personally as your Lord, Savior and Redeemer.

Thursday, December 28 | Feast of the Holy Innocents

Holy Gospel: Matthew 2:13-18 

Prayer: O God, whom the Holy Innocents confessed and proclaimed on this day, not by speaking but by dying, grant, we pray, that the faith in you which we confess with our lips may also speak through our manner of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: Many ask why God did not prevent this slaughter. Human suffering is indeed a mystery. No explanation seems to satisfy our human craving to understand. These innocent children and their parents suffered for Christ. Suffering, persecution, and martyrdom are the lot of all who chose to follow Jesus Christ. There is no crown without the cross. It was through Jesus’ suffering, humiliation, and death on a cross, that our salvation was won. His death won life—eternal life for us. And his blood which was shed for our sake obtained pardon and reconciliation with our heavenly Father.

The Holy Innocents: “Blessed are you, Bethlehem in the land of Judah! You suffered the inhumanity of King Herod in the murder of your babes and thereby have become worthy to offer to the Lord a pure host of infants. In full right do we celebrate the heavenly birthday of these children whom the world caused to be born unto an eternally blessed life rather than that from their mothers’ womb, for they attained the grace of everlasting life before the enjoyment of the present. The precious death of any martyr deserves high praise because of his heroic confession; the death of these children is precious in the sight of God because of the beatitude they gained so quickly. For already at the beginning of their lives they pass on. The end of the present life is for them the beginning of glory. These then, whom Herod’s cruelty tore as sucklings from their mothers’ bosom, are justly hailed as ‘infant martyr flowers;’ they were the Church’s first blossoms, matured by the frost of persecution during the cold winter of unbelief.” — Saint Augustine

Friday, December 29 | Saint Thomas Becket

Holy Gospel: Matthew 16:24-27 

Prayer: O God, who gave the Martyr Saint Thomas Becket the courage to give up his life for the sake of justice, grant, through his intercession, that, renouncing our life for the sake of Christ in this world, we may find it in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: Jesus basically asks the question: What will a person give in exchange for his or her life? Never forget that everything we have is an outright gift from God. We owe him everything—our gifts, abilities, talents— our very lives. It’s possible to give God our money, but not ourselves, or to give him lip service, but not our hearts. A true disciple gladly gives up all that he has in exchange for an unending life of joy and happiness with God. God gives without measure. The joy he offers, no sadness or loss can diminish. The cross of Christ leads to victory and freedom from sin and death. What is the cross which Jesus Christ commands me to take up each day? When my will crosses with his will, then his will must be done. Christ is forever—remember that!

Scripture passages (NAB translation) courtesy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; prayers are from The Roman Missal, Catholic Book Publishing, 2011; information about saints, solemnities, feasts and memorials courtesy of the Catholic Culture website. frlumpe:2023