THE NEW DAWN OF LOVE.

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December 25, 2021
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas).

Mass at Dawn - READINGS: Is 62:11-12; Ps 97:1, 6, 11-12; Ti3:4-7; Lk 2:15-20.

“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” (Lk 2:15)

A Portuguese proverb says: “Love is paid with love.” And a Romanian proverb adds: “No man is born into the world, whose work is not born with him.”

Preparing this meditation, two songs were trotting in my mind, "the day I fell in love" by Dolly Parton and "A new day has come" by Céline Dion. Two beautiful songs for lovely souls. And one could ask, ‘Father are you such much in love? What is the relation between these romantic songs and the mystery we celebrate today?’

The truth is, Christmas is a great day to fall in love again and again with the Lord. For, on this day, God fell in love with our humanity. "For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." (Jn 3:16) This is the mystery we commemorate today. God fell so badly in love with human beings that the day of his incarnation marked the dawn of a new day. Today, a new day has come. A day to love. A day to rejoice. A day to sing God’s glory.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “The Word became flesh so that we might know God’s love...” CCC 458. Behold, today, our Savior has come. Humanity is called to a sacred union with divinity.

The Word of God is filled with songs of joy. The Prophet Isaiah, in the first reading, reveals to Zion the mystery which is about to take form. "Behold, your Savior comes", he says. And this coming of the Savior will sound the salvation of the people. "They shall be called the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord." For those who were trapped in the gloom of sin and the darkness of this world, a new light will shine. The Lord is born.

St. Paul, in his address to Titus, tells us that it is not because of our righteousness or any meritorious act, but only because of his mercy that God saves us. Christmas is the manifestation of God's merciful love. In his kindness, he took on himself our human nature and became one of us, "so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life."

In the Gospel, through the experience and eyewitness of the shepherds, we are told that at the crib of Bethlehem, God’s love was found in a baby, an innocent infant lying under the vigilant eyes of his parents, Joseph and Mary.

The message is great for us today. We are called to let ourselves be amazed at the sight of God’s love, and like Mary, keep all these things in the secret of our hearts and meditate on them.

Love is wonderful, people always say. God’s love, however, is more than wonderful. It is transforming and it opens us to love. The new day which has come today calls us to make things new for ourselves and our brothers and sisters as well. God so loved the world that he gave himself to it. We too must love others until giving ourselves serving them. Christmas would never be Christmas without others. Christmas would never be Christmas without love. So, in this new dawn when God's love has become flesh, we are invited to kill or exfiltrate from our hearts all that is the germ of selfishness, individualism, hypocrisy; all those things that oppose true love and make room for sacrifice, forgiveness, love in all its forms. Only then will joy truly invade our world and the peace of Christ will transform it into a new land where love of God and neighbor reigns.


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