Let’s bring Christ back to Christmas!
The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Isa 52:7-10; Ps 97; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18
Saint Francis of Assis was very much attracted by the humility of Jesus. So he could not help but cherish the solemnity of Christmas as the dearest feast to his heart. Together with this feast he profoundly contemplated the humility of Jesus on the Cross and in the Holy Eucharist. Indeed, Christmas and the Eucharist are intimately linked because the mystery of the Eucharist is a continuation of the mystery of God becoming man (the Incarnation). It seems that Christ was still not finished with us when he took on himself our human nature … he wanted to find a way of remaining with us, which he concretely did in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Lord’s permanent and sacramental presence amogst us.
This intimate link between Incarnation and Eucharist is also hinted at by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical letter ‘Ecclesia de Eucharistia’ (2003). John Paul II says: “In a certain sense, Mary lived her Eucharistic faith even before the institution of the Eucharist, by the very fact that she offered her virginal womb for the Incarnation of God’s Word. The Eucharist, while commemorating the passion and the resurrection, is also in continuity with the Incarnation. At the Annunciation, Mary conceived the Son of God in the physical reality of his body and blood, thus anticipating within herself what to some degree happens in every believer who receives, under the signs of bread and wine, the Lord’s body and blood” (no. 55).
These foregoing papal words not only bind together Incarnation and Eucharist, but also includes us in the Eucharistic mystery – we who have the most sublime grace of receiving the Eucharist within us during mass. In fact in the same paragraph of the encyclical, the Pope observes a profound analogy between the ‘Fiat’ (yes) which Mary said in reply to the angel, and the ‘Amen’ (I believe) which every believer says when receiving the Body of the Lord. Mary was asked to believe that the One whom she conceived “through the Holy Spirit” was the “Son of God” (Lk 1:30-35). In continuity with Mary’s faith, in the Eucharistic mystery we are asked to believe that the same Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary, becomes present in his full humanity and divinity under the signs of bread and wine.
The above reflections instil in us the joyous realization that we are very much graced in having the daily opportunity of receiving the Holy Eucharistic, which is the prolongation of the Incarnation. Hence, celebrating the Incarnation of Christ without the Eucharist would be a rather poor and senseless celebration. We would be missing a lot! The Eucharist is the key whereby we can glimpse the greatness of the mystery of Christmas. By receiving the Eucharist, we, like Mary, become living tabernacles for the Lord Jesus; not ones made out of gold and silver and cold lifeless marble, but tabernacles fashioned out of our own flesh and blood.
May this Christmas provide us with precious moments of silent prayer in front of Jesus’ manger and in front of the Holy Eucharist so that we may come to know Christ more intimately, to love him more ardently and to follow him more faithfully. In a world which might be celebrating Christmas leaving out the main protagonist, let’s seek to bring Christ back to Christmas!
Isa 52:7-10; Ps 97; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18
Saint Francis of Assis was very much attracted by the humility of Jesus. So he could not help but cherish the solemnity of Christmas as the dearest feast to his heart. Together with this feast he profoundly contemplated the humility of Jesus on the Cross and in the Holy Eucharist. Indeed, Christmas and the Eucharist are intimately linked because the mystery of the Eucharist is a continuation of the mystery of God becoming man (the Incarnation). It seems that Christ was still not finished with us when he took on himself our human nature … he wanted to find a way of remaining with us, which he concretely did in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Lord’s permanent and sacramental presence amogst us.
This intimate link between Incarnation and Eucharist is also hinted at by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical letter ‘Ecclesia de Eucharistia’ (2003). John Paul II says: “In a certain sense, Mary lived her Eucharistic faith even before the institution of the Eucharist, by the very fact that she offered her virginal womb for the Incarnation of God’s Word. The Eucharist, while commemorating the passion and the resurrection, is also in continuity with the Incarnation. At the Annunciation, Mary conceived the Son of God in the physical reality of his body and blood, thus anticipating within herself what to some degree happens in every believer who receives, under the signs of bread and wine, the Lord’s body and blood” (no. 55).
These foregoing papal words not only bind together Incarnation and Eucharist, but also includes us in the Eucharistic mystery – we who have the most sublime grace of receiving the Eucharist within us during mass. In fact in the same paragraph of the encyclical, the Pope observes a profound analogy between the ‘Fiat’ (yes) which Mary said in reply to the angel, and the ‘Amen’ (I believe) which every believer says when receiving the Body of the Lord. Mary was asked to believe that the One whom she conceived “through the Holy Spirit” was the “Son of God” (Lk 1:30-35). In continuity with Mary’s faith, in the Eucharistic mystery we are asked to believe that the same Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary, becomes present in his full humanity and divinity under the signs of bread and wine.
The above reflections instil in us the joyous realization that we are very much graced in having the daily opportunity of receiving the Holy Eucharistic, which is the prolongation of the Incarnation. Hence, celebrating the Incarnation of Christ without the Eucharist would be a rather poor and senseless celebration. We would be missing a lot! The Eucharist is the key whereby we can glimpse the greatness of the mystery of Christmas. By receiving the Eucharist, we, like Mary, become living tabernacles for the Lord Jesus; not ones made out of gold and silver and cold lifeless marble, but tabernacles fashioned out of our own flesh and blood.
May this Christmas provide us with precious moments of silent prayer in front of Jesus’ manger and in front of the Holy Eucharist so that we may come to know Christ more intimately, to love him more ardently and to follow him more faithfully. In a world which might be celebrating Christmas leaving out the main protagonist, let’s seek to bring Christ back to Christmas!
<< Home