In this very secular world it is becoming extremely important to know the reasons why we celebrate Christmas. At Christmas time Santa Claus is in our face front & center and it is getting harder and harder to see ‘manger scenes’ of the Nativity of our Lord, Jesus Christ. (cf: striveforheavennow.ca
Christmas is all about the Virgin Mary’s ‘YES’ and Jesus, the Word, becoming ‘flesh’, i.e., ‘the Incarnation’. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states this about the birth of Jesus:
“The coming of God’s Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ (emphasis mine); all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the ‘First Covenant’.” (CCC #522)
In one of his homilies Pope Benedict XVI explains it very well. He states: “The coming of the Messiah, foretold by the Prophets, is qualitatively the most important event of all history,(emphasis mine) on which it confers its ultimate and full meaning. It is not historical and political coordinates that condition God’s choice, but on the contrary, the event of the Incarnation that ‘fills’ history with value and meaning.” (Homily of Dec 31, 2006)
The Importance of Mary’s ‘YES’.
Thanks to Mary’s ‘Fiat’, to her ‘YES’, the Holy Spirit then came upon Mary, the ‘Immaculate Conception’ (cf: www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9ineff.htm ) and she later gave birth to Jesus Christ, our Saviour, ‘true God and true man’ as we call Him in the ‘Divine Praises’. St Thomas Aquinas explains very well the huge importance of the Incarnation to our future destiny with God for Eternity. He states in ‘Contra Gentiles:
“…it was no small usefulness which the Incarnation mentioned brought to the universe…to be sure, the power of the divine Incarnation is equal to the salvation of all men,(emphasis mine) but the fact that some are not saved thereby comes from their indisposition;they are unwilling to take unto themselves the fruit of the Incarnation; they do not cleave to the incarnate God by faith and love.” (Contra Gentiles, Book Four: Salvation, Chapter 55:10)
As I said earlier, we would not have a ‘Saviour’ if the Virgin Mary had not given her ‘YES’. When the Archangel Gabriel visited her. (cf: Luke 1:26-38) In Luke 1:26 she replied: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word.” This is what we celebrate as the ‘Feast of the Annunciation’. It celebrates the actual Incarnation of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, in the womb of His mother, the Virgin Mary. A beautiful explanation of the ‘Annunciation’ is given here at wf-f.org/Annunciation.html .
Jesus’s ‘YES’ to the Father, to come to earth, to be incarnated in the ‘Immaculate Conception’ (cf: www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9ineff.htm ) and Mary’s ‘YES’ to be the ‘Mother of God’ OPENS the way for us to become ‘children of God’ and become partakers of His divine nature for eternity!
During our earthly journey as children of God, as we ‘strive for Heaven’, God is asking us for our ‘YES’which if given to God will lead us to many ‘unknowns’ just as they did for Mary and St John the Baptist and all the other saints who said ‘YES’ to God. Paige Byrne Shortal explains this well in “Mary’s Fiat: All Beginnings Start With A ‘Yes’. (cf: www.liguorian.org/index.php?option=c)
If you do say ‘Yes’ to the ‘mission’ God has for you, you are in for the greatest adventure of your life.God will use you in a ‘unique’ way in His Plan of Salvation. I share one of my many ‘Yes’s’ in my Blog at www.aborterrorism.ca titled: “A Powerful ‘Pro-Life Prayer’ for 2013.” Also, T\to understand better the meaning of ‘Fiat’ I urge you to go to www.associationfiat.com and learn about a wonderful association called ‘Fiat’. It is all part of ‘striving for Heaven now’, thanks to Mary’s Fiat and Jesus’s Incarnation.
Donald Andre Bruneau, Dec 21, 2012.
