December, 2024

Dear Friends in Christ,

Merry Christmas!

We once again celebrate with great joy the birth of Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. And as we do each year, we have spent the past several weeks preparing our hearts and our homes. The season of Advent beckoned us to prepare for the Lord’s coming, especially through our prayer, reflection, works of charity, and the celebration of the Sacraments.

We have decorated our homes, purchased gifts, and prepared meals – and it may have left us exhausted. I hope we have prepared our heart and soul as well. Yes, preparing our home and preparing our heart require focused attention on our part.

PEACE IS NOT AUTOMATIC

Yet, as important as all our efforts have been to prepare for Christmas, the reality of Jesus’ birth into our life as the Savior is just the beginning – there will be much more work to come!

Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said:

Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

“The Christmas message is not that peace will come automatically, because Christ is born in Bethlehem: that birth in Bethlehem was the prelude to His birth in our hearts by grace and faith and love.

Peace belongs only to those who will to have it.

If there is no peace in the world today, it is not because Christ did not come: it is because we did not let Him in.”

TO BE TRANSFORMED – “LET HIM IN”

Archbishop Sheen is reminding us of the work we must yet do. Christmas both celebrates Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and invites us to receive him into our hearts today. If we have welcomed Him, if we have “let Him in,” then we must allow ourselves to be transformed by the encounter with Jesus – which in turn compels us to share our faith with the people whom God has placed in our life.

As a disciple, “by grace and faith and love,” we are to be a witness of how we have received God’s greatest gift to us – Jesus Christ. By what we say and do, we are to sow the seeds of peace in our families, our workplaces, and in our communities. We live in a world that longs for God’s peace.

May we be people who have been transformed by the birth of Jesus into our world and into our hearts – and as a result, become instruments of God’s peace.

It is my great hope that each of you may encounter the birth of Jesus into your heart this Christmas. And I pray that this overwhelming gift of God’s love will indeed strengthen each of us that we may not grow weary of the mission we have received – but allow this to be a moment to be energized, to be renewed, and to be filled with God’s grace for we have “let Him in.”

God Love you!

Peace and Prayers,