These days as we Dominicans go in to chant Evening Prayer (Vespers), we notice that it is very dark by the time we start at 5 p.m. This time of year is enfolded in the deep dark of oncoming winter.
The same might also be said of our world on an intellectual and spiritual level. For a Catholic, the light of faith helps enlighten our intellectual as well as our moral lives! This is why it is a wonderful thing to study our faith – to learn about our God – as well as to enter into a relationship with Him!
In the midst of the darkened world, we Catholics raise the light of faith against the night. We proclaim the great truth that God has taken on human flesh and blood in the Mystery of the Incarnation. This is an outlandish claim. No other major religion believes that God would stoop so low as to become part of His creation. For every other major religion, God is completely separate from his creation. Christianity on the other hand proclaims that the Love of God is so profound that He would stoop even lower than the Angels and enter into time. Not only that, but He would suffer and die for our sins! No greater love can be conceived of! However, He went even further and became our food so that we would have Him sacramentally in the Eucharist until the end of time!
This Good News of salvation has gone forth like fire through the centuries. It provides the light and warmth of hope to a cold world weary of sadness and despair.
Please continue to pray – especially for peace in our families, peace in our country, and peace in our troubled world. Pray that all may come to know the Prince of Peace – and to experience the joy of the Light of Truth.
Remember, too, that to proclaim this truth, we must first keep silence in front of such a great Mystery. We must take time to pray and be quiet. We must make an appointment to be with the King of Kings in prayer – otherwise, the business and anxieties of the season can be overwhelming. Do not forget to pray!!!
May He who by His Incarnation united into one things earthly and heavenly, bless you and your loved ones during this Christmas Season and in the New Year of Grace.
Fr. James Moore, O.P. is the Vicar Provincial for Advancement for the Western Dominican Province.
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