“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
Saturday, September 18th Lk. 8: 4-15 “The seed that fell on rich soil…”
From the Gospel according to St. Luke:
“And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.’”
“Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’”
“And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’”
“And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.”
- The Blessed Mother’s womb was the rich soil for the seed that became flesh and dwelt among us, the Son of God made man, Jesus Christ.
- “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:14)
- What we celebrate at Christmas is a source of fruitfulness for every day of our lives, if we believe!
CHRIST IS BORN AND DWELLS AMONG US by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
There are many ways that we can interpret the Birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The most obvious is of course His birth about 2000 years ago in the cave of Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. This we celebrate every year as the culmination of the Advent Season. However, there are many other spiritual and mystical ways that we can allow Jesus to be born in our world, in our communities, in our parishes, in our families and in our own hearts. This birth of Jesus can be as often as our hearts are willing to receive Him.
More than an essay, we offer you ten points to meditate upon to enrich your understanding of the Birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May Jesus be born in your heart in time and for all eternity!
1. Incarnation and Birth. Jesus came into time about 2000 years ago through the consent of the Virgin Mary—“…and the Word became flesh and lived among us.” (Jn 1:14) The reason? Love for all of humanity and for each one of us individually. Due to the Original sin of our first parents—Adam and Eve—the gates of heaven were closed. Therefore Jesus and Mary, the second Adam and the second Eve, came into the world to repair for the sins of our first parents, and to open the gates of heaven so that we can be saved. The name of Jesus means “Savior”; He came to save us from our sins.
2. Birth. In poverty, humility, simplicity, and obedience to the will of the Father, Jesus was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We are called to imitate these virtues of the birth of Jesus. Enemies to our living out these virtues are the following: materialism, that leads to consumerism, hedonism, and finally slavery to created things and forgetting the Creator of all things. Ven. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen reminds us: “The Creator of the universe had no place to be born in His own creation.”
3. Church is Mater et Magistra—Pope Saint John XXIII. This was an encyclical of this newly canonized Pope. As Mother, the Church brings forth new children. Many say they love Jesus but they do not like, nor can they even stand, the Church. Wrong reasoning! Jesus said that He would be with us always, even until the end of time. (Mt 28:20) He is present with us now in His Mystical Body, the Catholic Church. Therefore, Jesus is born in time through grace and through the workings of His Mystical Body: the Catholic Church.
4. Sacramental Life. This bringing forth Jesus in new life is especially expressed in the administration and worthy reception of the Sacraments—the most powerful and efficacious means of grace. There are seven and they can be divided into three categories: 1) Sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation; 2) Sacraments of Healing: Confession and the Anointing of the Sick; 3) Sacraments of Service—the Sacraments of Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony.
5. Baptism. Talking to Nicodemus at night, Jesus says that man must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus takes a natural interpretation of the words of Jesus and believes that he has to enter again the womb of his mother. Jesus clarifies this by saying that man must be born again of water and the spirit. (Jn 3:1-15) This passage and conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus points to our second birth of water and spirit and this is the Sacrament of Baptism. This was truly our second birth. It might not be a bad idea to establish a new custom in our families: celebrate two birthdays—our natural birth and our spiritual birth or Baptism. Have ice-cream and cake with candles twice a year! Parents can use this as a catechetical tool to educate their children on the importance of Baptism, its meaning, its serious character, and the obligation to live out one’s Baptismal commitment. This means in concrete that the baptized person must renounce Satan and all of his pomps, and pursue a life of holiness. Indeed Baptism demands that we pursue holiness of life! All of us are called to become saints!
6. Confession, Penance, and Reconciliation. The two greatest tragedies that can befall the human person are the following: committing a mortal sin, and worse yet, dying in mortal sin. But there is good news! If we have the misfortune to fall into mortal sin, there is always hope and trust in the infinite mercy of Jesus. This becomes a reality through a Sacramental Confession. Mortal sin is the death of the soul. Sacramental Confession is being born again through the grace of God and cleansing from the Precious Blood of Jesus. The Doctor of Grace, the great Saint Augustine, who lived many years far from God, stated that a good Sacramental Confession is a “Lazarus experience”. (Jn 11:1-44) Lazarus was dead and buried in the tomb for four days! Jesus approached the tomb and cried out in a loud voice: “Lazarus, come out!” This very dead man came out of the tomb alive and was given back to his sisters, Martha and Mary. This was in anticipation of the Paschal Mystery of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus would die on the cross, then rise to new life, and give us new life and life in abundance. New life first through Baptism and Sacramental Confession. Saint Thomas Aquinas asserted: “The return of a sinner to the state of grace is greater than the creation of the whole natural universe.” A proposal very pleasing to Jesus would be to bring the whole family to Confession on a regular basis. Maybe stop for an ice cream cone afterwards. Become an Apostle of Confession; try to bring some wayward soul back to the Sacrament of God’s Mercy. Preparing well for this Sacrament and receiving it well, indeed, is the birth of Jesus in the depths of our souls.
7. Sacramental Marriage. Unfortunately, due to paganism, secularism, moral relativism and the presence of the devil, many couples today start to live together. This has many names: cohabitation, free-union, trial-marriage, “Shacking out together”, being married civilly. For two baptized Catholics to live in this state is to be living in the state of mortal sin, thereby jeopardizing their eternal salvation. Therefore, the couple who takes the necessary steps to prepare for a Sacramental marriage, and then gets married in the Church, will experience the birth of Jesus in their hearts, in their souls, in their lives, and in their families on the day of the wedding. We should all promote traditional marriages, getting married in the church, and encourage the many couples who today live in free union, to have their union blessed by the priest in the presence of Jesus, who rejoiced with the married couple in Cana. It was here that Jesus performed His first Public miracle, changing water into wine through the intercession of Mary, His Mother. (Jn 2:1- 12)
8. Mass and Eucharist. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which means the House of Bread. In a very special way, Jesus is born at every Mass in the hands of the Ordained Catholic priest at the moment of consecration. Still more important is the moment of Holy Communion. The most sublime moment in the life of the human person is receiving Jesus worthily in Holy Communion. Indeed, in that moment, Jesus is born in the interior Bethlehem of your heart and your soul! For that reason, it is important to prepare our souls well for Jesus to be born in our hearts in Holy Communion. Let us resolve to attend Mass as often as possible and participate fully, actively, and consciously and receive Jesus with great purity, love, humility and confidence.
9. Preaching and the Birth of Jesus. The Church teaches that one of the primary duties of the priest is preaching the Word of God—how important this task! How is this carried out? Let us try to follow this dynamic! When a holy priest meditates on the Word of God, the word goes from his eyes into his heart and lives there. Jesus is born in the heart of the priest through mental prayer. Then the task of preaching follows. The priest prays over the Scripture he has meditated on, begging for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Then he preaches to the people and those who have an open heart, mind and soul, listen. The priest as preacher opens his mouth and preaches the Word of God; the word goes into the ears of the listeners; from their ears it goes into their mind, which contains both memory and understanding. Then from the mind, the word sinks into the depths of their heart and Jesus in born in them! From their heart, the word is carried into their life which blossoms in fruitful actions that we call virtues. Indeed, a true preacher of the Word of God brings forth spiritual life every time he sincerely preaches the Word of God. On one occasion, a woman in the crowd praises the womb that bore Jesus and the breasts that nursed Him. But Jesus gives even higher praise to His Mother Mary with these words: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice.” (Lk 11:28) For this reason, Saint Augustine teaches that Mary first conceived Jesus in her mind, before she conceived Him in her womb!
10. Christ’s Birth and the death of the saints. The Church has an interesting and somewhat paradoxical teaching. When a saint dies, he does not really die but is transferred into a realm of true and eternal life—this we call Heaven. For that reason, our life of grace is Christ born in us anew, as well as our new birth in Christ. It should be our daily and constant effort to grow in grace, protect the life of grace in our souls, and beg for the grace to die in the state of grace. If done, we will live forever in heaven in eternal love, peace and joy! Let us pray to Our Lady that Jesus will be born in our hearts, today, tomorrow, and at the hour of our death. “Hail Mary full of grace… pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
Copyright 2021 Oblates of the Virgin Mary / St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA
