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Jesus Christ is true God, who took on our human nature, having the humility and goodness to come amongst us as a mere infant.
As Mary travelled to Bethlehem, she was like the Son she would bear, resembling Him in humility, love, trust and obedience.
Christ came to earth, to be born in poverty, for our sakes; yet we need to feast as well as to fast in His Church. We feast on His birthday, for example, in preparation for the Eternal feasting which takes place in Heaven, in an eternal celebration of His Love.
We are right to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and to enjoy Crib sets and other traditions; but above all we must help the needy, in honour of Him Who came to help us in our need, when we were trapped in our sins.
Christmas is 'about' the entry into our world of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Saviour, in all His power, Divinity and holiness - though He hid His glory for most of His life on earth, and in fact began His life on earth as an infant.
The Meaning of Christmas: The Lord pictured before me a gigantic foliage wreath, and then a silhouetted representation of Santa Claus in a Sleigh, driving his reindeer. These are not what Christmas is 'about' - though our customary symbols or decorations are not wrong.
God the Son was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. No more dramatic and marvellous event had ever occurred upon earth than the appearance of the infant Who was fully God and fully human. And He had come to earth so that we can go to Heaven.
Christ strode joyfully around the 'room' that is my own soul, and explained that it has been truly 'well-swept' by my sincere confession yesterday and my new resolutions, in preparation for His Birthday, on the feast of Christmas.
Christ the Son of Mary is God's own Son, Son before all ages, then born in time, made flesh for our sakes.
Despite their pain and remorse, the Holy Souls in Purgatory are happy to know of the great feasts of the Church, such as Christmas. They know that their present safety is due to the life of Christ, born on earth to die for our sins. They pray with us at every Mass, in and through Christ their Saviour.
Before Mass, on the feast of the Holy Innocents, as I prayed, Christ asked me to listen to the Father, Who said: "I gave you a Child at Christmas. Every child to whom I give the gift of life is precious to Me". By that, the Father meant that His wish is that no unborn child be killed in the womb, or dragged from it, because it is unwanted. I should use these paintings, to help them.
God the Father gave us a Child at Christmas, for a special purpose - our Salvation. A further purpose was to show us that every infant is precious in His sight. Every child has been given life by God at conception; and those who reject those little lives are rejecting God's gift and insulting the Good Creator.
The Reason for Christmas: Christ was born on earth, God made man, because human beings were trapped in their sins, since the sins of our first parents. We could not save ourselves, but were like people behind a barred window, captive on a sinking ocean liner.
Christ first became an embryo, in the womb of His mother Mary, before He became a full-grown man. If we keep this in mind, we can both celebrate the wonder of His birth at Christmas, and help other people to treasure the gift of life, not to dispose of it in a brutal manner.
It is good practice, to send greetings cards, with sincere good wishes. Christ sends down grace like an arrow, to the hearts and minds of those to whom we send loving Christmas greetings and for whom we pray, in our concern for their wellbeing now and their Eternal welfare.
It is nice to be in a warm room, at Christmas, yet if we go out into the garden at night, we might wonder what someone might think of our world, if he had come down from a far-away star. For Christ, coming from Heaven was like coming from a star of light and grace to a world of sinful people, many of whom persecuted and killed Him - but could not prevent His Resurrection. All who believe that He came from Heaven to save us from sin can be transformed by His power, and have a sure hope of reaching Heaven.
God wants each of us to realise that the Blessed Virgin Mary is not just an historical figure, or a person pictured in our Christmas cards, but is a living woman: a great Saint: the Mother of Jesus Christ. She reigns in Heaven with Him, and reaches out to help us by her powerful and loving intercessions.
A person who is lonely at Christmas needs help; but the greatest help would be for him to believe that Christ was born into our world at Christmas not for mankind as a group, but in order to transform and make joyful each beloved individual - including that person who is sad, whether from loss of faith, or grievous sin, or bereavement, or other reasons.
If we look beyond our Christmas decorations towards the Heavens, it can remind us of the gap between human beings and the Godhead: a gap we could not bridge through our own strength, which is why Christ came down to earth, and was born of Mary: to rescue us from weakness and sin. He founded a Church, so that by His power, given in the sacraments, we can be made holy, worthy of union with the Blessed Trinity and of Heaven.
We should never look at our Christmas cards without remembering the real meaning of Christmas, and longing to share the Good News. The birth of Jesus was a unique event in the history of the world. Nothing like that has happened before or since. God was made man, amongst His people on earth, so that everyone who believes in Him can have Eternal life.
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