Excerpt from the homily of Pope Benedict XVI, Christmas Eve Mass, St. Peter's Basilica (he also got knocked down by some crazy lady in a red hoodie before Mass started)The Angel had said to the shepherds: "This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." (Lk 2:12; cf 2:16). God's sign, the sign given to the shepherds and to us, is not a astonishing miracle. God's sign is His humility. God's sign is that He makes himself small; He becomes a child; He lets us touch him and He asks for our love. How we would prefer a different sign, an imposing, irresistible sign of God's power and greatness! But His sign summons us to faith and love, and thus it gives us hope; this is what God is like. He has power, He is Goodness itself. He invites us to become like Him. Yes indeed, we become like God if we allow ourselves to be shaped by this sign; if we ourselves learn humility and hence true greatness; if we renounce violence and use only the weapons of truth and love...Yes indeed, that is what we should pray for on this Holy Night. Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, come to us! Enter within me, within my soul. Transform me. Renew me. Change me, change us from stone and wood into living people, in whom your love is made present and the world is transformed. Amen.
(And we also wait for Santa)
Daddy and daughter cookie baking has become an annual tradition. This year Jujube threw in some carrots for the reindeer. All 3 children behaved beautifully at Mass tonight and afterwards we went for another annual tradition: Christmas Eve dinner at Milan with John. I go to bed with a heart full of warmth, wonder and hope. Merry Christmas!
1 comment:
LOVE that family picture. Another framer for the School house. You're going to run out of room if you keep getting all of these good pics.
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