Nativity of Our Lord / Christmas Day (Year A) - 25 December
25th December 2022
Nativity of Our Lord / Christmas Day (Year A) - 25 December
“Mary invites all, rich and poor, just and sinners, to enter the cave of Bethlehem, to adore and to kiss the feet of her new-born Son. Let us enter; let us not be afraid.” - St Alphonsus Liguori
Sacred Heart Parish Inverell wishes everyone a blessed and happy Christmas. May God shed His grace and peace upon the world. 🙏💖
A reflection on this holy and blessed day in the history of the world by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen:
"The date is December twenty-fifth, but to the humble man, it is Christmas; the manger is a throne; the straw is royal plumage; the stable is a castle; and the Babe is God. He found Wisdom because he was foolish, Power because he was weakness, and the Infinite, Immense and Eternal God, because he was little – for it is only by being little that we ever discover anything big.
"He lies upon straw on earth and yet sustains the universe and reigns in Heaven; He is born in time, and yet He existed before all time; Maker of the stars under the stars; Ruler of the earth an outcast of earth; filling the world, lying in a manger. And yet the proud man sees only a Babe. The humble, simple souls, who are little enough to see the bigness of God in the littleness of a Babe, are therefore the only ones who will ever understand the reason of His visitation. He came to the poor earth of ours to carry on an exchange; to say to us, as only the Good God could say: You give me your humanity, and I will give you my Divinity; you give me your time, and I will give you my eternity, you give me your weary body, and I will give you Redemption; you give me your broken heart, and I will give you Love; you give me your nothingness, and I will give you My all.
"The world misses the lesson because it confuses littleness with weakness, child-likeness with childishness, and humility with an inferiority complex. It forgets that great moral strength may be hidden in physical weakness, as Omnipotence was wrapped in swaddling bands; and that great Wisdom may be found in simple faith as the Eternal Mind was found in the form of a Babe. There is strength – strength before which the angels trembled, strength before which the stars prostrated, and strength before which the very throne of Herod shook in fear.
"Thus the birthday of the God-Man is the children’s day, in which the proud become children, and the big become little, and all find God."
(The Eternal Galilean)
A Christmas Prayer
Glory to God in the highest!
My precious Lord, Jesus, I adore you with profound love and rejoice in the celebration of Your birth. Your love for us in unfathomable, it is glorious, transforming, awe-inspiring, and deeply personal. You chose to come and dwell among us, being born into poverty, rejection, and humility. Yet Your mother knew whom she bore. Her heart was filled with the tenderest love as she adored her Child and her God. Help me, dear Lord, to come to love You with the heart of Your Mother. Invite me to adore You with Saint Joseph and the poor shepherds. Reveal to me the glorious power of Your birth and change my life on account of this perfect gift of Yourself. I love You, dear Lord Jesus. Help me to love You with all my heart. Newborn Saviour of the World, I trust in You. Mother Mary and Saint Joseph, Pray for me and for all. Amen. 💖🙏💐