Christmas December 25, 2022

Fr. Rick’s Two Minute Homily Christmas December 25, 2022
Luke 2:1-14 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122522-night.cfm

Christmas 2022.

One of the books required to read during my studies to be a religious was the Autobiography of St. Teresa of Lisieux. She longed to be a missionary, but poor health kept her within the convent’s walls.

So, she offered God all the little works and crosses that came her way for the missions. I love how she found God among the pots and pans.

It doesn’t seem much in the world’s eyes, but it is the way God chose to come to us. He wants us to be with Him right where we are, in the good, bad, and ugly life experiences.

The shepherds bearing the cold didn’t expect anything out of the ordinary. Laying Jesus in a feed trough was the best Mary and Joseph could do. If Jesus came to Mary and Joseph storming out of heaven on a fiery chariot, the best they could do would never be enough.

Mary’s heart had been beating in sync with her Son’s Sacred Heart for nine months. Most likely, the hay, the manger, the cave, the cold, the swaddling clothes, the animals, and the darkness didn’t distract His Mother. She fixed her gaze on Jesus, and nothing else mattered to her.

Jesus draws us into a relationship with Him by making himself weak and needing constant care from ourselves and others. Each Christmas, and each day, the Bethlehem event is renewed on the altar during Mass, and God re-issues his gentle invitation. Will we accept? Will we let Christ come into our lives anew, where we are, or will we keep him at a distance?

Gospel Challenge:

Sometimes it is cold in that Bethlehem cave of our heart, and he’s hoping to be warmed by our embrace. Let’s listen to our hearts and wait for the answer that gives us, lasting peace.

Pray with me, “Lord Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything.”

Merry Christmas, God’s good people.

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