The Gift of Christmas

Brothers and Sisters, Merry Christmas!

I love the season of Christmas because it awakens in me an inner joy that I had as a child – that innocent expectation. Of course, mostly I was expecting gifts. You know, Christmas morning we'd run down and we go right by the door of the living room, and we knew when that door opened we would go in and not only see the Christmas tree lit with gifts from family and friends and Santa but also we would see the manger scene under the tree. The manger scene reminded us that while we enjoyed all these gifts, Christmas was about the Gift, the Gift of a Savior, the Gift of Jesus born, the Gift of God, who is now Emmanuel, God with us.  
 
Brothers and Sisters, we really need God with us today. Don't we? Our lives seem to be filled with all kinds of stress. We're pulled apart more than we're pulled together. We even argue among ourselves about things that oftentimes are insignificant. We find the powers of the world seem to be growing in strength. We need God with us.  
 
This is the hope and joy of Christmas, our God is with us. He wants to be a part of our lives and be in our hearts. So let us tap into that youthful expectation, that innocence. Let us believe with the belief we've had from the very beginning that this God is with us. And let us invite Christ into our hearts. Let Him be born again in us. Let Him fill us with hope. Let Him fill us with the knowledge that God loves us so much that He sent His only Son that we might have life and have it to the full. And with this certain faith let us never doubt that our God is EMMANUEL. God with Us. 
 
Merry Christmas!

+Bishop Michael Duca