CHRISTMAS – THE GREATEST WONDER
I once heard the story of a group of school children who were asked to list what they thought were the “Seven Wonders Of The World.” Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes: Egypt’s Great Pyramids, Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon, Panama Canal, Empire State Building, St. Peter’s Basilica, Great Wall of China. While gathering the papers, the teacher saw that one student had not finished hers yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The little girl replied, “Yes, a little. I couldn’t quite make up my mind because there are so many.” The teacher said, “Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help.” The girl hesitated, then read, “I think the “Seven Wonders Of The World” are: to see, to hear, to touch, to taste, to feel, to laugh, to love. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous. Truly, the most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man.
I shared this story with our students at Holy Cross School on the last day of school, before they left for Christmas holidays. When I asked them what they think the seven wonders were, a boy shouted: “Me.” I believe the Holy Spirit must have revealed that to me.
God loves what is human; God loves us so much that He became a human being. This is so that one day we may be with Him in heaven. St. Anselm said that God became man that we may be divinized, that we may one day share the glory of Paradise with Him. A Christmas card I saw puts it well:
“His destiny was the Cross… His purpose was love… His reason was you…”
The Pope went to Grecio, Italy, a few weeks ago at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi where the first Nativity was built by St. Francis. The Pope reflects:
“Christmas crèche (or the nativity) speaks to us of the love of God, the God who became a child in order to make us know how close he is to every man, woman and child, regardless of their condition. God’s ways are astonishing, for it seems impossible that he should forsake his glory to become a man like us. To our astonishment, we see God acting exactly as we do: he sleeps, takes milk from his mother, cries and plays like every other child! As always, God baffles us. He is unpredictable, constantly doing what we least expect. The nativity scene makes us reflect on how our life is part of God’s own life. It invites us to become his disciples if we want to attain ultimate meaning in life…Children – but adults too! – often love to add to the nativity scene other figures that have no apparent connection with the Gospel accounts. Yet, each in its own way, these fanciful additions show that in the new world inaugurated by Jesus there is room for whatever is truly human and for all God’s creatures. From the shepherd to the blacksmith, from the baker to the musicians, from the women carrying jugs of water to the children at play: all this speaks of the everyday holiness, the joy of doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way, born whenever Jesus shares his divine life with us.”
Pope Francis
For those of us for whom this year has been difficult: those who have lost loved ones, those searching for meaning and for a new beginning, those who are suffering from illness, those who have been disappointed, Jesus will never abandon you. May the Lord heal and comfort us. You are in our prayers. My dear friends, as we kneel before the manger this Christmas, as we adore the Christ Child, I pray that the Babe of Bethlehem may bless you and your family this Christmas and in the New Year. May we all know and experience the joy, love and peace He brings. I love you all.
Have a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.
~ Fr. Obi