Today's Ornament of Grace for Christmas Day is Jesus, the Christ.
Titus 3:4-7
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us; not because of any righteous deeds we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the baptism of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit he lavished on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs, in hope, of eternal life.
Advent is over, and the wonderful celebration of the Christmas Season is here! St. Paul in his letter to Titus, from the second reading of the Mass at Dawn, calls us to rejoice that Jesus, God among us, is here to save us. He reminds us that we have not done anything to deserve saving; there is nothing we will ever be able to do to merit such love. But, God, in his infinite mercy, wants to save us so we can be one with Him.
Today is a good day to give thanks for our Baptism, our new birth in the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, Jesus renews our birth in His birth so that we can become pure and holy. We can share Jesus’ birthday in the truest sense, for we – like Christ – have been born through salvation today. Let us sing, dance, eat, celebrate, and never forget to do good works.
St. Paul tells Titus we are heirs in hope. I know someone who is totally bored with her life. She is not particularly depressed, but she is looking for something exciting to do all the time. Do you know anyone like that?
She has eaten at every restaurant within miles, gone to every gallery, taken courses, and shopped at every kind of store. Still, the boredom returns. Christmas decorations, gifts, foods, maybe a church service with uplifting music, and some visitors may bring her a little fleeting happiness today. But, what about tomorrow? What about all of us tomorrow? Will we hold onto Christmas joy then and throughout the year?
St. Paul’s letter to Titus reminds us that the Holy Spirit has been lavished on us. Lavished! The Holy Spirit has given us these gifts: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord. Using these gifts, we bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Using the gifts of the Holy Spirit to do good works will help us put down the roots to our life’s tree, and that tree will bear much good fruit.
Throughout Advent, we looked at saintly people’s lives. We have seen people who prayed (piety), studied God’s Word (knowledge), and used all the Spirit’s gifts. Their fruits of love, joy, peace and more were evident as well. So, Jesus, Our Savior, came to bring us the fullness of life in the Spirit. Let us, human like the saints, use our hands and feet, our talents, whatever we have to offer to make the saving love of Jesus real for people around us today. Deep joy will follow.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI knows this. He said, “Joy is the true gift of Christmas, not the expensive gifts that call for time and money. We can communicate this joy simply: with a smile, a kind gesture, a little help, forgiveness. And the joy we give will certainly come back to us…”.
May we all find joy in the Holy Spirit Who has been lavished on us because Jesus, wanting to be one with us, chose to be born long ago as a helpless child and chose to give His life that we might live – and do the same as He did.
OBSERVING THE BEAUTIFUL ORNAMENTS
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