But in these days of new age "I'm ascending to a higher power by doing such and such" theology (or "I said the magic formula and Jesus is in my heart so I will be succesful in Business), the meaning goes beyond the Oprah version of peace.
Ratz said it best...
“The Child lying in the manger is truly God’s Son. God is not eternal solitude but rather a circle of love and mutual self-giving. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
But there is more: in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God himself became man....
God is so great that he can become small. God is so powerful that he can make himself vulnerable and come to us as a defenceless child, so that we can love him. God is so good that he can give up his divine splendour and come down to a stable, so that we might find him, so that his goodness might touch us, give itself to us and continue to work through us. This is Christmas...
“it is the breaking of God’s light upon a world full of darkness and unsolved problems”. ...The light is a source of life. But, in the words of the Pope, “light means above all knowledge; it means truth, as contrasted with the darkness of falsehood and ignorance. So light gives us life, it shows us the way.
But then, light, as a source of heat, also means love. Where there is love, light shines forth in the world; where there is hatred, the world remains in darkness.
Yes, in the stable of Bethlehem there appeared the great light which the world awaits. ...The light of Bethlehem has never been extinguished. In every age it has touched men and women, ‘it has shone around them’. ....
The Midnight mass was not a pep rally, but a rejoicing of families. The humble knew that Christ was poor, like they were, but that he understood and was with them...the peace that follows prayer is not an ego trip, but each person seeing him or herself as part of God's family, and so loved...and the parties after the Mass were not a contradiction ,but a mirror of the Eucharist...
The communities gathered around the Eucharist make up a kingdom of peace as wide as the world itself. When we celebrate the Eucharist we find ourselves in Bethlehem, in the ‘house of bread’. Christ gives himself to us and, in doing so, gives us his peace. He gives it to us so that we can carry the light of peace within and give it to others. He gives it to us so that we can become peacemakers and builders of peace in the world.
And so we pray: Lord, fulfil your promise! Where there is conflict, give birth to peace! Where there is hatred, make love spring up! Where darkness prevails, let light shine! Make us heralds of your peace!”
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SHHHESHH...the PC press says that the pope's reference to a small defenseless child is merely touting the church's opposition to abortion...wait til they report the sermon of March 25th...
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Update two: Full text now on line HERE
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