NEW DAWN OF SALVATION

-

December 25, 2022.
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas).

Mass during the Day

Readings: Is52:7-10; Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18.

“A holy day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, and adore the Lord. For today a great light has come upon the earth.” (Cf. Acclamation)

A Scottish proverb says: “All things hath a beginning, God excepted.” And a Native American Hopi proverb adds: “Take a breath of the new dawn and make it a part of you.”

The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ rings a new daw, a new canticle of glory, and brings about a new day for our humanity. It is the new dawn of human salvation. God today has entered humanity and embraced human nature for our salvation. The name of Jesus itself brings about this hope for us: "God saves." The angelic choir, resounding the glory that fits God alone announces to us that God has become one of us and one with us to save us.

Today is the fulfillment of the Incarnation. The little child in the crib is the Son of God who has become the Son of Man to save man. “The Church thus confesses that Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother: "What he was, he remained and what he was not, he assumed", sings the Roman Liturgy. And the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom proclaims and sings: "O only-begotten Son and Word of God, immortal being, you who designed for our salvation to become incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, you who without change became man and were crucified, O Christ our God, you who by your death have crushed death, you who are one of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us!" CCC 469

We are celebrating today our new beginning in Jesus, thus the expression new dawn, marking however new and renewed God's love for us. Christmas speaks of love and sings love.

We live in this life, staring for hope, staring for love, staring for peace. Many happenings, oftentimes misroute us and mislead us. The Lord comes to strengthen our hearts and minds and assure us of salvation.

There is one beautiful message from the song of the Ivorian Reggae King, Alpha Blondy, that could fit our today's meditation, as we stare at the new dawn. He says: “And I'm staring straight, staring straight, staring to the rising sun. Yes, I'm staring straight, staring straight, waiting for the new dawn…” Today, the whole Christian community, and together with them, the whole world is staring straight for the new dawn that the Lord brings through his nativity in our likeness. The Light has sprouted from the darkness, dispelling all the gloom and fears. A new hope is now opened unto us. The Virgin Mary, one of our human nature has borne for us the Son of God. Let’s sing our heartfelt glory to the newborn King.

The word of God today points to the central mystery of the Incarnation, "And the Word became flesh." That is what Christmas is all about. Of old, God manifested himself through the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Judges, the Kings, and through prodigious acts. He gave to his people Israel to discover him through many ways and many messengers. But then, when the time has come to its maturity, the Most High chose to reveal himself in our human likeness. He has become one of us. The Incarnation of Christ is the summit, the highest level of God's manifestation. Today, all the revelations of God and all the words of the Prophets have reached their completion: God has spoken to us through his Son. "The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth."

The liturgy gets all its meaning through these two passages from the letter to the Hebrews and the Gospel of John. The joy of Christmas is here, and we are given to see the glory of God manifested to us today through a child. Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, the newborn in Bethlehem, reflects the splendor and fullness of the Father. He is the Word that was in the beginning. Through Him, the Father made all things and nothing of what is made was made without Him. Today he has come as a light to shine in our darkness and bring about a new day, a new dawn of hope, and a new life for humanity. We all are called and urged to be actors of this new dawn.

What could be Christmas without Christ? What could be Christmas without love? And what could be our Christian life without Christmas? For, God so loved us that he gave His Only Begotten Son. Just as God is incarnated to be with us and one of us today, so too let us make ourselves one with each other and especially with those in need, the poor, the outcasts, and the homeless... May we bring them the light of this new dawn and make them feel that Christ has come also for them. Christmas is love. Let us, therefore, share that love and open the needy to a new hope. Christ, the Son of God is born for human salvation. May that salvation not only be spiritual but also corporal, social, political, and economic. May we all be instruments and cooperators in that mystery. Merry Christmas to all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ASSUMPTION OF MARY, BEYOND THE DOGMA.

-
Image
August 15, 2020 Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Readings:  Rev 12:1-6a, 10ab;  Ps 45: 10, 11, 12, 16;  1 Cor 15:20-27;  Lk 1:39-58. A Romanian proverb says, “Honor is the reward of virtue.” And a Japanese proverb adds, “The consequence is the reward of the cause.” Beyond the dogmatic definitions and declarations, all the Marian solemnities and devotions are but, an act of gratefulness and thanksgiving our humanity raises to God. For, in his great power and omniscience, he chose to become one of us, and he did it through a humble virgin whom he has elected to be his Mother. Mary is one of us. She is the instrument God was please, in all his creation, to hand-pick to contribute in his mystery of Incarnation and Salvation. We cannot separate Jesus from Mary. We cannot speak of Jesus as known through the Holy Scriptures without mention Mary his Mother. Some people try hard to eclipse Mary from the Lord's mysteries of the life, and mission....
Read more

GOD OF EVERLASTING MERCY.

-
Image
April 7, 2024. Second Sunday of Easter - Sunday of Divine Mercy – B. Readings: Acts 4:32-35; Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 Jn5:1-6; Jn 20:19-31. "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." Jn 20:23 A Chinese proverb says: “The Buddha has mercy even on the meanest thing.” A Filipino proverb adds: “Mercy resides in God; deeds are in men.” At Easter, what we really celebrate is a regeneration, a new birth, and a new opportunity offered to sinners. The Lord, by dying on the Cross, took away our evilness and made us new creatures. This newness opens us to new life. We are given to rediscover our original beauty that we lost in sin. It is a journey of purification that finds its origin in God's everlasting and always renewed love. We are celebrating today, the second Sunday of Easter, the Divine Mercy Sunday. Our opening prayer already gives the tune of our celebration: "God of everlasting mercy, who in...
Read more

MARRIAGE, A NOBLE VOCATION.

-
Image
October 6, 2024. Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – B. Readings: Gn 2:18-24; Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6; Heb 2:9-11; Mk10:2-16 or 10:2-12. “If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us.” 1 Jn 4:12 A Romanian proverb says: “Love is blind, but marriage finds a cure.” A German proverb adds: “Marriage is the opposite of a fever attack; it begins very hot and ends very cold.” Marriage is a noble divine institution. It is the surgent of the society, of life, and so, of any other calling. Through the marital union of husbands and wives, a new life originated opening to a new vocation. Without doubt, after the Holy Eucharist, the Matrimonial Union is the nobless of all Sacraments. It even has greater value in terms of impact on social life than the Sacramental Order of the Presbytery. In the Diocese of Lucena, while celebrating the 74th Foundation Anniversary, this year is dedicated to vocation. In the prayer for the year of vocations, we rea...
Read more