In these last hours as we keep vigil for the Nativity of our Lord, I pray that each of you feel the closeness of the Lord.
This Advent Jesus has brought me deeper into the mystery of the Incarnation.
Often we focus on the mystery of the Incarnation as something external to ourselves, so that we feel shut out from the Light.
We can feel that we are standing outside of the stable, unworthy of entering, peering through the widow and wishing we could be the wise men, shepherds, or even the animals.
The truth is that as Christ was begotten of the Father so were we. He came into the world for our sake, and each of us shares in the incarnate love of Christ.
Jesus, who is Love Incarnate, became Flesh so that our frail humanity could be united to his sublime divinity. Each of us is a unique expression of the Love of God and this is worth some of our prayer and reflection as we contemplate Christ coming into the world.
I have often forced in my mind the image of the Nativity scene, trying to extract what God wants to say to me, as if it were behind the little doors of a mental Advent calendar. But I believe that we are as much a part of these events as were the wise men and shepherds.
We are living legacies of the Incarnation since we participate in the mission of Jesus, the purpose of the Incarnation – to bring God into our world.
It is beautiful that the Year of Mercy begins as we welcome Christ into our world at Christmas. May we invite him into the darkness of our own hearts so that the healing love and purifying light of Christ can be born in each of us again, renewing our broken humanity.
Saint Leo tells us in the Office of Readings, “Christian, remember your dignity…” Never forget who dwells in you!
May you all be touched by the love of the infant Jesus, radiating from his Sacred Heart that rejoices in each of us, that dwells in each of us, that loves through each of us.
