Christmas Day, December 25, 2010
(John 1: 1-14)
Christmas is usually thought of as starting today and continuing for 12 days, but Christmastide extends 40 days, from today to the Purification of Mary, February 2nd. The Church’s Liturgy celebrates the miracle of the virgin birth on each of those days.
Today’s Modernists make a false claim that we do not know the date of Christ’s birth. They claim that December 25th was chosen in order to “Christianize” the Roman festival of the sun. In fact, there were no Roman holidays on December 25th. The nearest one was the drunken festival of Saturnalia which always ended no later than December 23rd. St. John Chrysostom notes that the public records of births were available to the Church, and it can be easily assumed these records were looked at in order to confirm the birth date of December 25th.
The date of December 25th is also arrived at by noting in Luke 1 that an angel appeared to Zachary on the Day of Atonement in late September to tell him his wife, Elizabeth, will bear a son who is to be called John. Then in Luke 1: 28 the Archangel Gabriel tells Mary that Elizabeth is now in her sixth month. Adding six months to late September when the angel appeared to Zachary brings us to late March for the conception of Jesus, and adding nine months to that brings us to late December for the birth of the Lord.
Why was Bethlehem chosen as the birthplace of the Lord? It was the City of David, where King David came from, and the name Bethlehem means City of Bread. Later, Jesus tells the Jews at John 6: 51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven.”
Pope St. Gregory the Great tells us it is St. Thomas the Apostle, Doubting Thomas we call him, who had more to do with solidifying our faith than the faith of all the other Disciples. We just celebrated Thomas’ feast day on December 21ST. Thomas thrust his fingers into the Wounds of his Master. He felt, and cried out, “My Lord and my God.” Thomas saw only the Perfect Man before him, but touching Him he believed in the Perfect God which he could not see. Thomas was a witness for us of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. He touched Christ’s wounds for us so that we today may believe. The words of our Lord which followed, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed, (John 20: 29) are meant especially for us, who have not seen Christ in the flesh, but believe in his Divinity. We have also not seen the birth of Jesus, but we have many evidences of His birth and life, His death and resurrection, and we believe.
We are often asleep in sin, asleep with our concerns for the things of the Earth. Use, but do not abuse, the things of the Earth to clothe us and to feed us. Work with our hands and minds to provide these things for us. Enjoy, but do not worship, the beauty of the Earth with our body’s senses. But with our souls, worship God Whom we cannot see, Whom we cannot sense, but Whom we can believe as Thomas touched Him and believed before us. With the whole desire of our souls let us embrace that “true light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world.” (John 1: 9)
Reflect Who it is we receive in the Eucharist today, and Who has received us into Himself. The Lord Jesus by being born has become our flesh, and we by being reborn have become His Body. Therefore, we are both members of the Body of Christ, the Church, and temples of the Holy Ghost, and for this reason St. Paul tells us to “Glorify and bear God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6: 20) While we take Him into ourselves in the Eucharist He says to us, “Come to me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart, and you shall find rest to your souls.” (Matthew 1: 28-29)
A blessed Christmas to you and to your families. +
We Celebrate the Traditional Tridentine Latin Mass:
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