Subj : December 25th - Solemnity of Christmas Day To : All From : rich Date : Mon Dec 24 2018 08:48:55 From: rich December 25th - Solemnity of Christmas Day =C2 =C2 Noel! Noel! This was the cry of our fathers when the Faith prevailed, ardent and lively in the bosom of families, institutions, and all of society. That cry has grown very weak in our day, for the naivete of simple faith has tended to disappear. Nevertheless, of all the Christian feasts, Christmas is perhaps the most beloved and the most popular. =C2 =C2 Jesus is born in Bethlehem. He looks like an innocent helples= s and humble baby. But He is God!... with the arms raised for help... He loves you and me, He needs our love... God can't talk, nor walk... he needs to be fed and cleaned... and He is God!, the One who made heaven and earth... a glorious mystery of mysteries described in Luke 2: =C2 =C2 The Birth of Jesus: =C2 =C2 1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) =C2 3 And=C2 everyone went to his own town to register. =C2 =C2 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee= to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. =C2 =C2 The Shepherds and the Angels: =C2 =C2 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, =C2 =C2 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on = whom his favor rests." 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." =C2 =C2 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the bab= y, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. =C2 =C2 God used the most apparently indifferent events to reach His = ends. Mary lived in Nazareth, and the prophets predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). But an edict of Caesar Augustus ordered all the inhabitants of Judea to go at a certain time to enroll in their native city. Bethlehem was the birthplace of Joseph, so that is where the holy spouses went; and that is where, in conformity to the predictions of the prophets, Jesus was to come into the world. =C2 =C2 What a birth for a God! Joseph looked for an inn, but there w= as none for such poor people; rejected and scorned, they were obliged to seek refuge in an isolated stable. No hospital, nor doctor, nor nurse, not even a bed or a .... just a stable, that is where, in the middle of the night, Mary miraculously gave birth to Jesus; that is where the most meek Savior received the first adorations, where He received the first kisses and caresses, where He shed His first tears! Mary took the Infant in Her arms, covered Him with poor swaddling clothes and laid Him softly in a cold manger. O first moments which Mary and Joseph spent at the feet of Jesus, how precious you were for them, how full of charm! We will taste a little of this joy and these charms on going to our church to pay a visit to the manger scene that represents such a great mystery. Earthly joys are deceitful, but the joy of God=E2=80= =99s service are lasting and true. Jesus was born, and behold, the heavens rang out in hymns of joy as the Angels sang the canticle of triumph, =E2=80=9CGlory to God in the highest!=E2=80=9D and the canticle of peace, =E2=80=9CPeace on earth to men= of good will!=E2=80=9D Jesus was born, and at once the poor shepherds, informed by = the Angels, came to adore the Redeemer of Israel in that little Infant. Jesus was born, and soon the princes of the East, led by a Star, laid their homages at His feet. Let us hail Christmas, the dawn of peace and salvation. Source: Abb=C3=A9 L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'= ann=C3=A9e, Mame: Tours, 1950 Saint Quote: "When you think of going to mass on working days, it is an impulse of the grace that God willed to grant you. FOLLOW IT." He did not say ignore it! He also said: "A saint has told us that one day at Mass he saw Jesus Christ with His hands full of gifts, looking for souls to whom He might give them." But no one was there. --St. John Vianney Bible Quote: Sow for yourselves justice, reap the fruit of piety; break up for yourselves a new field, for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain down justice upon you."=C2 (Hos 10:1-3, 7-8, 12) <><><><> Confidence in pardon "Let the good thief show us the confidence we can have in pardon. He was not good because he was a thief, since his cruelty led him to that. His confession of guilt made him good. Think how incomprehensible is the mercy of our all-powerful God! The thief was caught red-handed in his thievery and hanged on a cross. There he confessed his guilt, there he was forgiven, there he was found worthy to hear Jesus say to him 'Today you will be with me in paradise.' How can we begin to describe God's great goodness! How can we begin to value it? From a criminal's punishment the thief came to the prize for virtue." --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .