The story of Christmas us the greatest story ever told.
To fully appreciate Christmas we start with our belief that Eternal, Infinite, Divine Love has been present throughout the universe since the moment of creation 13.8 billion years ago. The omnipresence of Divinity throughout the universe from its very beginning has a name. It is "Christ," which means, "The Universe Anointed with Divine Presence."
Jesus was the Christ, the Divinely Anointed Universe, come to earth in the form of a 1st century, male Jew. Mary, his mother, is exalted because she is truly the Mother of Infinite, Eternal God-with-us in human form.
While God is the universal Basis of our faith, Jesus is the global Center of our faith. When we focus on him here on earth, we see the timeless, universal God in human form. In his birth and life we directly learn of God's infinite, overflowing love for us.
No wonder that when Jesus was born, an entire army of angels sang, "Glory to God in the Highest!" No wonder that we venerate Mary, who birthed him forth into the world. No wonder that St. Paul wrote that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth." (Phil. 2:10)
In our Catholic, all-embracing understanding, Jesus represents love for everyone on earth without exception. St. Irenaeus said, "The glory of God is people fully alive." Jesus showed us how to be fully alive, i.e., by imitating him and showing love for everyone. He taught that everyone is our brother and sister in Christ. By loving others, we help them become the fully alive persons that God intends them to be.
St. Paul expressed our love for everyone in Jesus, the Christ when he said that in Christ there is not Greek or Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all in all. (Col. 3:11).
Today we can say that while we rightly recognize the differences among us, by raising ourselves to the higher consciousness of Christ we can say there is not Catholic or Protestant, Muslim or Hindu, etc., not White or Colored, not citizen or immigrant, not right or poor, nor Democrat, Republican or Independent, etc., etc., but there is one justice, peace and love for all without exception.
In Jesus' Christmas Love, may we be vessels of peace and good will for all, so that we may all flourish in our blessed humanity and so that his prayer, "Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven" may take even a little step forward.
In the Universal Love of Christ present with us in Jesus, I wish a very Merry Christmas to all my readers--and to the whole world.
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