Beloved in the Lord,

Soon we will celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord. 

Is He truly Our Lord?  Is this simply a title we give to Him with no meaning?  Do we gather to celebrate His most merciful coming simply because it is that time of year?  Do we celebrate to get nostalgic feelings of past Christmases? 

If He is Our Lord, if we believe He became flesh and lived among us, if we believe He is God Incarnate then we must do as He willed and He taught.  To do otherwise is to lie every time we say the Creed, every time we tell others we are a Christian.

An ancient teacher of the Faith, one of the Fathers, stated well what we must do especially as we celebrate this Feast.

This Nativity night bestowed peace on the whole world;
    So let no one threaten;
This is the night of the Most Gentle One -
    Let no one be cruel;
This is the night of the Humble One -
    Let no one be proud.
Now is the day of joy -
     Let us not seek revenge;
Now is the day of Good Will -
    Let us not be malicious.
In this Day of Peace -
    Let us not be conquered by anger.
Today the Bountiful impoverished Himself for our sake;
    So, you who have been made rich in Him, invite the poor to your table.
Today we receive a Gift for which we did not ask;
    So let us give alms to those who implore and beg us.
This present day casts open the heavenly doors to our prayers;
    Let us open our door to those who ask our forgiveness.
Today the DIVINE BEING took upon Himself the seal of our humanity.
    In order for humanity to be decorated by the Seal of DIVINITY.

 -St. Isaac of Syria (c. 700 AD)

Let us celebrate with a will and desire to live the new life that the newborn King comes to give.  Let us make every effort to truly do as Christ our God did and taught.  Let us put aside those things that make us ungodly so that we might become godlike in Him whose birth we celebrate.  It all begins with a simple prayer,

“Lord, You became what I am; help me to become what You are.”

Let this prayer be a prayer each day of our lives!

I am blessed beyond words to be your priest.  Please forgive my sins and faults.

May Christ give you all that is good; may you have a joyous and blessed Christmas.

Fondly,
Fr. Phil