Message in a Minute for Christmas:
Glory to God in the highest, Christ Our Savior is born.
Merry Christmas! We celebrate the birth of Christ Our Savior. This day fills us with joy. What a blessing it is to celebrate the birth of Christ by celebrating the Holy Mass. As for the Masses, this is an interesting day. You may not know this, but there are 4 separate Masses listed in the lectionary and the Roman Missal. There is the vigil Mass, the Mass during the night, the Mass at dawn, and the Mass during the day. Each of these 4 Masses has their own set of readings and prayers. The Church even allows a priest to offer multiple Masses that day so long as he chooses to celebrate one of the different Masses. Each Mass presents the birth of Christ is a different way. (I should note that the priest who celebrates Mass has the option to use any of the 4 choices, so it is not always the case that you would hear the different selections if you went to all 4 Masses at the Cathedral)
Vigil Mass:The gospel for the vigil Mass is the genealogy of Jesus. We hear name after name. I’m sure that few of us would be able to recognize many of the names in the list. There are heroes, and there are villains. There are great religious leaders like Abraham. There are wise kings like Solomon. There are terrible kings who led the people into worshiping false gods. So, Jesus is the Son of God, but he was born into a human family. And if you study his family closely, you will notice that it’s a hot mess. But, this should give us hope. Christ was born for the whole human family, saints and sinners. That baby in the manger came to redeem the whole human race.
Mass at Night: The gospel for the Mass at Night is probably the most familiar to us. We hear about Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem. We hear about Jesus being placed in the manger because there was no room for them in the inn. We hear about the angels and the shepherds. You can almost hear all of our most beloved Christmas music. But, one thing I really appreciate about the reading is the fact that Jesus is placed in a manger. The manger is the place where the food is placed in the stable. Even as a baby, Jesus is being shown as the bread of life. The Eucharist imagery is very powerful, even if it is very subtle. Think about the connection with the Eucharist next time you pray in front of the manger scene.
Over…
Mass at Dawn: The shepherds are the focus of this gospel. After the shepherds hear about Christ from the angels, they feel they have to go and investigate. We too have heard the message about Christ. Hopefully, we can follow the example of the shepherds and go seeking to learn more about Christ, seeking to find him. Notice too what happens when they do find him: they go and make known the message about Christ. So, we see that the shepherds hearabout Christ, seekto find him themselves, and then proclaimthat Good News to others. This sounds like a perfect program for our own lives of faith: Hear, Seek, and Proclaim.
Mass during the Day:This gospel comes from the Gospel of St. John. If you hear this reading you might think to yourself, what about the baby in the manger? Yet, this gospel passage also helps to shed light upon the amazing mystery of Christmas. We know that the baby Jesus was born and placed in the manger. This gospel tells us just who that baby really is. In the beginning was the Word. This little baby is the Word of God, the Son of God. This little baby is the Eternal Son of God. But, for our sake and for the sake of our salvation: The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. The mystery of Christmas is that the Eternal Word of God entered into human history. The Word became human so that humans might be saved. No wonder we cry out “Glory to God in the highest.”
Please know of my prayers for all of you during this amazing season of Christmas. I would like to thank you for your warm welcome here at the Cathedral. It has been a joy to celebrate Advent and Christmas with all of you here. I look forward to being with you in 2019.
In Christ,
Fr Jake
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