Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The star of hope: The 2013 Christmas special

The day we all waited for has arrived: The Lord is born!

Now, we have to continue reflecting His birth by presenting to you the Readings and Propers of the Day Mass (the third and oldest of the three Masses celebrated every December 25th). Don't worry, we also link here the Readings and Propers of the Vigil Mass, the Midnight Mass and the Dawn Mass:
 
Vigil Mass 
Extraordinary Form Propers (missale.heliohost.org/dec24.html)
Extraordinary Form Propers (http://missale.heliohost.org/dec25a.html)

Extraordinary Form Propers (http://missale.heliohost.org/dec25b.html)

Sounds fair enough? I hope so….

Anyway, with the light of the recent catastrophes and anomalies that put our nation on its knees and the Church in full swing, we would like to have this reflection as solemn as possible without losing the candid thoughts (though lessened).

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READINGS AND PROPERS 

Ordinary Form (PROPER)

First Reading: Is. 52:7-10
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, and that preacheth peace: of him that sheweth forth good, that preacheth salvation, that saith to Sion: Thy God shall reign! The voice of thy watchmen: they have lifted up their voice, they shall praise together: for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall convert Sion. Rejoice, and give praise together, O ye deserts of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people: he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath prepared his holy arm in the sight of all the Gentiles: and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Responsorial: Ps. 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6
R: All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle:
because he hath done wonderful things.
His right hand hath wrought for him salvation,
and his arm is holy.

The Lord hath made known his salvation:
he hath revealed his justice in the sight of the Gentiles.
He hath remembered his mercy
and his truth toward the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Sing joyfully to God, all the earth;
make melody, rejoice and sing.

Sing praise to the Lord on the harp,
on the harp, and with the voice of a psalm:
With long trumpets, and sound of cornet.
Make a joyful noise before the Lord our king.

Second Reading: Heb. 1:1-6
God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, In these days, hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world. Who being the brightness of his glory and the figure of his substance and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high: Being made so much better than the angels as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels hath he said at any time: Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee? And again: I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith: And let all the angels of God adore him.

Gospel: Jn. 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God: and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made.
In him was life: and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness: and the darkness did not comprehend it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him.
He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light.
That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world.
He was in the world: and the world was made by him: and the world knew him not.
He came unto his own: and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name.
Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
[genuflect] And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.
John beareth witness of him and crieth out, saying: This was he of whom I spoke: He that shall come after me is preferred before me: because he was before me.
And of his fulness we all have received: and grace for grace.
For the law was given by Moses: grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son who is in the Bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.


Extraordinary Form

INTROIT ¤ Isaias 9. 6
   Puer natus est nobis, et Filius datus est nobis: cujus imperium super humerum ejus: et vocabitur nomenejus, magni consilii Angelus. -- Cantate Domino canticum novum: quia mirabilia fecit. V.: Gloria Patri . . . -- Puer natus est nobis, et Filius datus est nobis . . .
   A child is born to us, and a Son is given to us: Whose government is upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called, the Angel of Great Counsel. -- (Ps.97. 1). Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because He hath done wonderful things. V.: Glory be to the Father . . . A child is born to us . . .

   COLLECT.--Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that the new birth of Thine only-begotten Son in the flesh may set us free, who are held by the old bondage under the yoke of sin. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

EPISTLE ¤ Hebrews 1. 1-12
Lesson from the Epistle of blessed Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews.
[It was by the Word that God made the world. Let the nations and kings come and adore Him. -- The Angels fall down and worship Him.]
   God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the world: Who being the brightness of His glory and the figure of His substance, and upholding all things by the word of His power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the Majesty on high: being made so much better than the angels as He hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels hath He said at any time: Thou art my Son, today have I begotten Thee? And again: I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son? And again, when He bringeth in the first begotten into the world, He saith: He that maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire. But to the Son: Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of justice is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows. And: Thou in the beginning, O Lord, didst found the earth: and the works of Thy hands are the heavens. They shall perish, but Thou shalt continue: and they shall all grow old as a garment: and as a vesture shalt Thou change them and they shall be changed: but Thou art the selfsame, and Thy years shall not fail.

GRADUAL ¤ Ps. 97. 3, 4, 2
   Viderunt omnes fines terrae salutare Dei nostri: jubilate Deo, omnes terra. V.: Notum fecit Dominus salutare suum: ante conspectum gentium revelavit justitiam suam.
   Alleluia, alleluia. V.: Dies sanctificatus illuxit nobis: venite gentes, et adorate Dominum: quia hodie descendit lux magna super terram.
   All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God: sing joyfully to God, all the earth. V.: The Lord hath made known His salvation: He hath revealed His justice in the sight of the Gentiles.
   Alleluia, alleluia. V.: A sanctified day has shone upon us: come ye Gentiles and adore the Lord: for this day a great light hath descended upon the earth. Alleluia

GOSPEL ¤ John 1. 1-14
† Beginning of the holy Gospel according to St. John.
   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was in God's presence, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was made nothing that was made: in Him was life, and the life was the Light of men; and the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
   There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to testify concerning the Light, that all might believe through Him. He was not the Light, but he was to testify concerning the Light. That was the true Light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world.
   He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him to them He gave power to become sons of God, to them that believe in His Name, who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. [Here all kneel.]
   And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us: and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

OFFERTORY ¤ Ps. 88. 12, 15
   Tui sunt coeli, et tua est terra, orbem terrarum et plenitudinum ejus tu fundasti: justitia et judicium praeparatio sedis tuae.
   Thine are the heavens, and Thine is the earth, the world and the fulness thereof Thou hast founded: justice and judgment are the preparation of Thy throne.

   SECRET.--Sanctify, O Lord, the gifts offered to Thee, by the new birth of Thine Only-begotten Son: and cleanse us from the stains of our sins. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

PREFACE
Preface of the Nativity
   Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper, et ubique gratias agere: Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus: Quia per incarnati Verbi mysterium nova mentis nostrae oculis lux tuae claritatis infulsit: ut, dum visibiliter Deum cognoscimus, per hunc in invisibilum amorem rapiamur. Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus, cumque omni militai coelestis exercitus, hymnum gloriae tuae canimus sine fine dicentes:
   It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God, for through the Mystery of the Word made flesh, the new light of Thy glory hath shone upon the eyes of our mind, so that while we acknowledge God in visible form, we may through Him be drawn to the love of things invisible. And therefore with Angels and Archangels, with Throne and Dominations, and with all the hosts of the heavenly army, we sing the hymn of Thy glory, evermore saying:

SPECIAL FORM OF COMMUNICANTES
Communicantes for Christmas
   Communicantes, et diem sacratissimum celebrantes, quo beatae Mariae intemerata virginitas huic mundo edidit Salvatorem: sed et memoriam venerantes, in primis ejusdem gloriosae semper Virginis Mariae, Genetricis ejusdem Dei et Domini nostri Jesu Christi: sed et . . .
   Communicating, and keeping this most holy day, on which the spotless virginity of blessed Mary brought forth a Savior to this world; and also reverencing the memory first of the same glorious Mary, ever Virgin, Mother of the same our God and Lord Jesus Christ: as also . . .

COMMUNION ¤ Ps. 97. 3
   Viderunt omnes fines terrae salutare Dei nostri.
   All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

   POSTCOMMUNION.--Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that as the Savior of the world, born on this day, is the Author of our heavenly birth, so He may also be to us the Giver of immortality. Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

At the end of the Mass, the Last Gospel is not read as usual. Instead, Matthew 2. 1-2 is read.

LAST GOSPEL for Christmas Day Mass: Mt. 2. 1-2
 
Cum ergo natus esset Iesus in Bethlehem Iudaeae in diebus Herodis regis ecce magi ab oriente venerunt Hierosolymam dicentes: Ubi est qui natus est rex Iudaeorum? Vidimus enim stellam eius in oriente et venimus adorare eum.

When Jesus therefore was born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of king Herod, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, Saying: Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and are come to adore him.

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REFLECTIONS AND INSIGHTS 

"All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God".

Apart from the highlight passage of the Gospel of St. John, we also see that this passage from the 98th Psalm (or the 97th in other versions of the Bible) is something we should ask ourselves: Indeed, we have seen the salvation of our God, but in what way can we substantiate this?

We have seen in the Epistle to the Hebrews (allegedly by St. Paul, but this Is disputed) that the salvation sent by God to us is His own Son, Jesus Christ. He is of divine origin as He was "born of the Father before all ages" and "for us men and for our salvation, He came down from heaven; and by the Holy Ghost, was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man." (Nicene Creed).

The Holy Spirit has perfectly weaved Sacred Scriptures to made manifest the prophecies of the Messiah and the fulfillment that is found in Jesus Christ. We would take three blog posts just to specify each one of them, but I would like to simplify the message of Christmas into the three Theological Virtues: faith, hope, and charity.

Charity is the greatest of the three, as St. Paul exhorted in the 13th chapter of his First Letter to the Corinthians. Charity, which is the synonym of love, means committing one's self to the other even if it harms himself in the process. Secular as it sounds, but it is deeply rooted to the divine truth that "God is charity" as He Himself was made manifest in the world through His Incarnation, Passion, death, and Resurrection.

Being the first among the three to be made manifest upon our baptism, faith is also important as the door in which charity will flow into the hearts of all men. Yes, it is difficult to keep the faith, but these tests of faith strengthen us. And we persevere because we fix our eyes on the Crucified. But there would still be things that we cannot get over by faith alone, even if combined with charity.

What is faith if we live in despair? What is charity if it is too superficial?

The heart needs more than just faith and charity. The world is in need of hope.

These three are interconnected. Hope and charity without faith is futile; faith and hope without charity is selfish; faith and charity without hope is worthless.

Hope is the one virtue that Christmas is deeply rooted on. Just imagine: Jesus was born in an era of peace that was established by Rome; but in Judea, it is far from peace. The Jewish priests and levites of the Maccabean dynasty were overthrown form power and the Roman-backed Herodian dynasty snatched the power that began from the bravery of the sons of Mattathias against the Greek pagans a hundred-or-so years back. Israel was ridiculed for the longest time, that it even extends until today. Though it appeared to be a holy nation, moral corruption decayed Israel, that the only people faithful to the Lord was reduced to a very few, mostly those who are insignificant in all levels of Israel's society. These people, mostly the masses, painstakingly await the coming of the Messiah, and indeed Christ came as the Messiah, the Suffering Servant, the Son of Man.

But where is the hope there, you ask?

Isn't it obvious? He became a child for you and me. And in every child born, there is a hope for a better future, though there are many false hopes propagated all around the world.

Case and point: secularism.

Ever since political thoughts such as socialism and capitalism came around in the 1920s, the world started to destroy itself. As the fog of war clears, many people create too much noise that we are now living in a confused global neighborhood reduced to nothing more than profit, loss, and opportunity. Man became ignorant of his true dignity, even if most people feed them with ideals that allegedly augments it, but in reality, it just make them fall into a deeper pit of despair.

Secularism has also dampened our religious freedom as Christians. Heck, even Christmas has been secularized as a by-product of secularism. No thanks to the Puritans.

Now let's add another situation that is familiar recently: The Visayan Double Whammy. 

If America and Europe were devastated by such catastrophes, they may either be too desparate that they will be susceptible to commit suicide due to a nervous breakdown, or they may recover from the earthquake or the storm but at the price of bitterness that may lead to atheism, and eventually to desparation.

All over the world, there are broken souls that need to be rescued form their sins and that need integral human help. The Catholic Church became the beacon of hope in a world of calamities, war, corruption, and despair. Since she was founded by Christ upon Peter, Holy Mother Church made a great effort to lead men to her Bridegroom, just like the star that shined for the shepherds, the Magi, and the angels.

Jesus is the Light in which the star of hope points to. He is the Good Shepherd of the shepherds of Bethlehem; the Divine Wisdom seen by the Wise Men; the King of the angels; and the Lord of all creation--that is, of the oxen, the donkeys, and the sheep that attended Him in His sleep as a child. Although this star is no longer shining in human history, the Light of the world still makes Himself known to everyone as the Source of their hope. And the Church, His Bride, became the star that leads all men to the manger--to the Word made flesh.

"All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." Yes. "For unto us a Child is born…the Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6) who is our Emmanuel (Is. 7:14; Mt. 1:23), who is the Word of God made flesh that dwelt among us (cf. Jn. 1:14), who emptied Himself to take the form of a slave and to be obedient unto the death in the cross (cf. Phil. 2:7-8).

This is who Jesus Christ is for us, my dear friends. The Source of our hope.

Now we ask: How can I live out the hope that is within me? Will I be like the Virgin Mary, "our life, our sweetness, and our hope" as she shares the hopes of the Divine and His plan to save mankind?

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PRAYING THE COLLECT

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that the new birth of Thine only-begotten Son in the flesh may set us free, who are held by the old bondage under the yoke of sin. O God, who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature and still more wonderfully restored it, grant, we pray, that we may share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost: One God, world without end. Amen.

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From the bottom of my heart, allow me to greet you all a Merry Christmas!


--IJR
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