...And He Appeared and the Soul Felt Its Worth...

My favorite Christmas song is O Holy Night. Well, maybe it's one of my favorites. I cannot wait to sing it on Christmas Eve. I think one of the most special times of every year is the 48 hours of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We wait in silent anticipation of the birth of our Lord, meditating and centering ourselves in the fact that when he appears, we see our worth and our meaning, our goal and our end. A homily given by St. Josemaria Escriva called "Christ Triumphs Through Humility" encourages us to contemplate in silence the mystery of these moments. A mystery is not something to be solved, but rather, is something to be explored....

There is only one race in the world: the race of the children of God. We should all speak the same language, taught us by our Father in heaven -- the language Jesus spoke to his Father. It is the language of heart and mind, which you are using now, in your prayer -- the language of contemplation, used by men who are spiritual, because they realize they are children of God. This language is expressed in a thousand motions of our will, in the clear insights of our minds, in the affections of our heart, in our commitment to lead a virtuous life, in goodness, happiness, and peace.

You must look at the Child in the manger. He is our Love. Look at him, realizing that the whole thing is a mystery. We need to accept this mystery on faith and use our faith to explore it very deeply. To do this, we must have the humble attitude of a Christian soul. Let us not try to reduce the greatness of God to our own poor ideas and human explanations. Let us try to understand that this mystery, for all its darkness, is a light to guide men's lives.

-- St. Josemaria Escriva, from Christ is Passing By