Christ the King is Born!
Antiphon 1: You have been endowed from your birth with princely gifts; in eternal splendor, before the dawn of light on earth, I have begotten you.
6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6-7 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
CHRISTMAS REFLECTION: 1
The last words before this posting was written just before Advent, on the topic of tithing. I think Christmas and tithing have a lot in common because here we see Jesus as an adult teaching about giving all you have away. True riches are not found in the earthly possessions but yet in Heaven were nothing rusts or is eaten by moths. But what makes a person give away everything for God? Jesus would most certainly answer that question with one word – the same word that his ministry was based upon, the same word that is used to describe His father in Heaven and which is the link to our Christmas Season. So what is that word? LOVE.
Isaiah 9:6-7 is about hope rooted in God’s perfect love, grounded in the very reason – justification to why Jesus came in the first place. Jesus our ‘Wonderful Counselor’, ‘Mighty God’, ‘Everlasting Father’, Prince of Peace’, and all of those titles are filled with God’s love for every one of use. Isaiah is foretell the action of God centuries before He actually does it. In this scripture we have God’s will working in the world preparing us for His son Jesus. This one action is the greatest act of love on behalf of God because it would be used to save every human being on Earth. So that we could spend eternity with God in Heaven forever. So what we are really celebrating is perfect love bestowed upon us by God the Father. I can’t think of a better gift than LOVE.
CHRISTMAS REFLECTION: 2
Antiphon 2: With the Lord is unfailing love; great is his power to save.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
Merry Season of Love my brothers and sisters, to you I pray that joy is multiplied a thousand fold in your lives. May God show you His perfect undying love to you and your family. It is often said that we reflect and wait for the birth of Christ within Advent. But I say to you… reflect everyday, contemplate your service to God, your mindset as God perceives it. Ask yourselves the hard questions such as… ‘How have my actions this year served God’s purpose?’ Ask yourselves, ‘Have I forgiven enough? Have I followed God’s will for my life?’ Look deep inside and contemplate the love God has shown you, reflect how He has blessed you, and thank Him for this most wonderful of all gifts… His saving love. In reflection the one question I ask every morning when I wake up and before I get out of bed is, ‘Dear Lord, how can I be of service to you today?” Then I listen intently and hear Him say the same things over again, ‘Be kind, be gentle, be considerate, be forgiving, be patient, believe in my word for it is the truth, and above all love all you meet especially your enemies even if they do not love you back.’ In this I try everyday to do… some days I fail, other days I succeed beyond my wildest dreams. But I try everyday without fail to always LOVE.
CHRISTMAS REFLECTION: 3
Antiphon 3: In the beginning, before time began, the Word was God; today he is born, the Savior of the world.
11 “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
1 John 5:11 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
Have you ever wondered what the words, ‘eternal life’ actual mean? Have you ever thought about the implication of eternal life with God? The very definition implies life beyond death. So, death has no real meaning in the face of eternal life. Again, my brothers and sisters I say to you… eternal life with God comes at the birth, life, and death, then resurrection of Christ Jesus who defeated death and sin, paid your sin debt in full so you could live with God in heaven forever! This Christmas is about love, God’s perfect love, Jesus’s perfect love for you. We celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus because of the miraculous gifts he offers to all of us, gifts we cannot buy, steal, bargon for, and or earn on our own. This Christmas give the gift of love by opening a door for stranger, taking out the trash for your grandparents, calling a long lost friend and telling them how much they mean to you, and or simply tithe giving of yourself for in that giving your heart reflects your love. Much in the same way Jesus shows us His love that He has in His heart for us. Whatever you do… make it real, make it tangible, make it a reflection of God’s LOVE.
Let Us Pray
The Supremacy of Christ
“Let us give thanks to the Father, for having made you worthy to share the lot of the saints in light.
He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creatures.
In Him everything in Heaven and on Earth was created, things visible and invisible.
All were created through Him; all were created for Him.
He is before all else that is.
In Him everything continues in being. It is he who is head of the body, the church; He who is the beginning, the first-born of the dead, so that primacy may be His in everything.
It pleases God to make absolute fullness reside in His person, both on Earth and in the Heaven, making peace through the blood of His cross.”
Colossians 1:12-20
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen!
May the Lord bless you, protect you from all evil and bring you to everlasting life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint Joseph, Pray for us. ~ Sancte Ioseph – ‘ora pro nobis,’
NOW GO SPREAD THE WORD!!
Listening Faithfully Blog written by Brian K. Stark, M.S.Ed.
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