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Christmas is Christ’s MassChristmas and the Eucharist are intimately associated. The very word “Christmas” means Christ’s Mass. It is derived from Middle English as a translation of the Latin word for Mass (Missa) and the Greek word for Christ (Christos). Christmas celebrates the joy of the birth of Christ. We celebrate that God himself became one of us and was born of the Virgin Mary more than 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. At the midnight Mass of Christmas, the Gospel of St. Luke tells us of the miraculous event of the birth of the Savior. He came as an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Around this manger the glory of God brilliantly shone and angels proclaimed his praises. At the Mass of Christmas Day, the Gospel of St. John makes clear to us that this Savior is God himself. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory: the glory of an only Son coming from the Father filled with enduring love” (Jn 1:14). Christ was born on the first Christmas and every time we celebrate Mass he is born upon the altar. He became flesh of the Virgin Mary and he becomes flesh in the Eucharist. Christ continues to dwell among us in the Eucharist so that we might know God’s glory revealed on that first Christmas as his enduring love. God’s love is most fully experienced in the Eucharist when God, again, gives his Son who gives his life in order that we might have life. God’s becoming flesh at the first Christmas was fully realized at the Last Supper, Christ’s Mass, when he gave us his flesh and blood in the Eucharist. At that supper, Bethlehem was brought to its realization as Christ prepared for his passion and death, which became present as he changed bread and wine into his body and blood. As the Lord gave his body and blood on the cross, he did so to reveal the fullness of God’s love. God loves us in an enduring fashion and desires our love in return. God does not want our servitude, but the love of our very hearts. He wants a real relationship with us, which is the only thing that gives meaning and purpose to life. God has gone to every extreme for our love including the giving of his Son who gave his life on the cross. The revelation of God’s love at Bethlehem was a prelude to the revelation of his love at Calvary. Bethlehem is incomplete without Calvary. Calvary is fully present in the Eucharist, which is the ultimate revelation of what our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XIV, refers to as “God’s mad love.” The scene at Christmas was a foreshadowing of the scene of Christ’s Mass which was the presence of Calvary at the Last Supper. We are told in the Gospel of St. Matthew of a miraculous star over the Christ Child, lighting the way to him. In the Scriptures, this star was a fulfillment of a prophecy referring to the Davidic kingship and, therefore, was a reference to “the King of the Jews.” This was precisely the inscription placed over the crucified Christ at Calvary. The wood of the manger foreshadowed the wood of the cross. This prophetic symbolism was further intensified by the visit of the wise men, who brought gifts symbolizing the burial of Christ. Indeed, Calvary was present at Bethlehem. Bethlehem was present at Calvary and both are made present in the Eucharist. Another fascinating reference to the Last Supper concerns the place of Jesus’ birth. St. John tells us that the Word came to make his dwelling among us, but St. Luke tells us that when he came there was no place for him to dwell. We are told of the plight of Mary and Joseph in finding a room for themselves in the place where travelers lodged. Hence, the Lord was born in a manger (cf. Lk 2:1-7). However, when the hour arrived for the Last Supper, St. Luke tells us that all preparations were made and that a guest room where Jesus would celebrate the Last Supper was exactly as the Lord had planned so that when the hour came, he took his place at table with his apostles (cf. Lk 22:7-14). There was no guest room for Jesus at his birth, but there was one for his approaching death because that is where he would be most at home. Christ dwelt most fully among us at Calvary when his mission of love was fulfilled. Christ came to give his life and he did so fully on the cross, which was present in the giving of his body and blood at the Last Supper of Christ’s Mass. Christmas is the celebration of the manifestation of God’s enduring love for each and every one of us. We celebrate Christ’s birth and the reality that God became one of us in Jesus Christ so that he might dwell among us and in us. Christmas is fulfilled in the Eucharist, which is indeed the Mass of Christ. In this Mass, the reason for his coming is realized and his passion, death and resurrection are made present, transcending time and space. He truly and fully dwells among us in his real presence in the Eucharist. Every time we celebrate Mass, we celebrate Christmas and we should experience its joy. In the Eucharist, we are given the greatest gift of Christ’s coming to us in his enduring love. St. John echoes the words of his Gospel which we read on Christmas Day in his first letter when he says, “This is what we proclaim to you: what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon and our hands have touched – we speak of the word of life” (1 Jn 1:1). Indeed these words refer to Christmas and to Christ’s Mass in the Eucharist. As we celebrate Christmas we truly look upon, hear and touch the Word of Life who became one of us in the Christ Child born at Bethlehem. God took our human nature and dwelt among us even though there was no guest room for him. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we look upon, hear and touch this Word of Life who truly changes bread and wine into his very presence and makes again present the Last Supper for which he prepared a room out of love for us. God, indeed, is with us and one of us. With the exception of sin, he experienced all we do, including death, in order that we might come to the fullness of life. This is the meaning of Christmas. This is the meaning of the Eucharist, Christ’s Mass. As our diocesan family celebrates its 25th Christmas this jubilee year, may we all know in our hearts the enduring love of the Lord manifested on that first Christmas Day. During this joyful season and throughout the New Year, it is the Eucharist which unites us most fully in him. A Blessed Christmas to all!
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