During the octave of Christmas, I would like to offer a simple meditation each day on the event of the Nativity of the Lord, interspersed with carols performed by Harpa Dei. I hope that this will help us to enter more deeply into the great mystery of this feast.
Rejoice, Christ is born! -is the cry of joy that fills heaven and earth. Rejoice, all you who have received this good news!
The songs for Christmas are full of joy and tenderness, and help our hearts to be immersed in the sweetness of the Nativity of the Child Jesus. If every birth rejoices the heart, how much more so the birth of the Son of God, the Saviour of humanity, Who comes into the world in a humble manger!
The angels announce this good news to the shepherds who keep watch in the fields of Bethlehem. And they immediately set out to find the newborn child.
What splendour radiated from the grotto of Bethlehem!
Mary and Joseph went through so much hardship to find a place to give birth, but when a mother sees her newborn child, she forgets all the pains of childbirth and is completely captivated and overwhelmed with joy for the child who now lies in her arms.
What must this moment have been like for the parents of the divine Child, who by grace were so closely involved in the mystery of God’s Incarnation? The joy that filled them was united with the joy of all the heavens for the newborn, the only Son of God. They adore Him and marvel at the Father’s love, now so close and so tangible that they can see it reflected in the eyes of the One Who entered human history once and for all through the womb of the Virgin.
Perhaps at this moment the words of the prophet Isaiah echoed in the hearts of Mary and Joseph:
“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may sprout forth,
and let it cause righteousness to spring up also;
I the Lord have created it” (Is 45:8).
Yes, the Lord has done it! The promises of old are being fulfilled before the eyes of Mary and Joseph! And they can embrace in their love the Lord of heaven and earth and shower Him with tenderness. In the birth of His Son, God shows us that all manifestations of true love come from Him, and in this case the love of the parents for their child transcends and is at the same time love for God.
In a beautiful German Christmas carol we sing these words to the Child Jesus: “In His love I want to immerse myself; my heart I want to give Him, and all that I have I want to give Him”.
But what is the most precious thing we can give the Lord? It is our heart, which He wants to touch so that everything that hinders the growth of love in us will disappear! In this way, in our encounter and union with the Lord, our love will be able to bear abundant fruit and give us the strength to remain faithful to Him.