<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the\nreasons I love Christmas is because of its invitation to meditate on the\nhumanity of Jesus, on the sublime mystery of the Incarnation. In today\u2019s\ngospel, the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph and tells him that the child\nMary expects \u201cwill save his people from their sins\u201d (Matthew 1:21). Jesus takes\non our humanity to reconcile us to the Father. He is true God and true man. As\nsuch, He can offer a perfect and spotless sacrifice to the Father on behalf of\nhumanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know\nthat this happens at the Cross. Still, the work of our redemption already\nbegins at the Incarnation when Jesus empties Himself and takes the form of a\nbabe in Mary\u2019s womb. During this Christmas season, the Church invites us to\ncontemplate this great mystery. Observe the baby in that manger scene. God\nHimself has stripped away His majesty. He has divested himself of all his\nglory, power, and wisdom. The God of the universe, the only genuinely\nselfsufficient and non-contingent being, has taken the form of a helpless babe\nand given Himself over to the care of others, to the infirmities of our human\ncondition. In a day and age where freedom and autonomy are priced above all\nelse, God\u2019s willingness to become a dependent infant should stand out all the\nmore. Imagine the cries of this helpless babe and the discomforts to which he\nwas born in that manger. Realize that this child that is born to us is God\nhimself and that the reason He has, in His absolute freedom, given Himself over\nto such conditions, is the love of you and me. Our redemption is won at\nCalvary. It is by His Cross that we are saved. But, it is already at the manger\nin Bethlehem that Jesus, the Son of God, begins to abase Himself before the\nFather for our redemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is such\ncontemplation that this Advent and Christmas season invites us to. Pondering\nthe mystery of the Incarnation nourishes our understanding and recognition of\nGod\u2019s love for us, a love that seen in the light of the Christmas event cannot\nbut leave us in awe of its grandeur. This is the invitation of this Christmas\nseason and my invitation to you for the next couple of days as we await that\nholy Christmas day. May our prayers and meditation on this sublime mystery\nprepare our hearts so that Jesus may find in them a manger to be born in and to\ndwell unceasingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Santiago Torres<\/strong> \u00a0\u2013 St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fot. Greyson Joralemon\/Unsplash.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fourth Sunday of Advent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-strona-glowna-najnowsze","category-strona-glowna-slider"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n