This series of Christmas reflections begins with the captivating words of the Church:

Hodie Christus natus est. Today, Christ is born!

Yes, today! It is an active statement: Today, Christ is born. The text does not tell us that Jesus was born. In our celebration, in our hearing, on this day at midnight – Christ is born. This is possible because of His Resurrection. We are not a pre-Christmas people. We are a post-Resurrection people. We are a people who have experienced the Resurrection! We have been baptized in Christ. The Resurrection event is a continual unveiling of the mystery of God who has come to us in Christ. Let’s turn to Pope Benedict XVI’s Christmas homily as we begin this joy-filled season:

“Again and again the beauty of this Gospel touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendour of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly let’s himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me.”

The Almighty God approaches me. The One who has no need of my praise, loves me. God draws near to me, so that my poor and weak heart can be Bethlehem for him.

As we ponder Christ at this midnight hour, I think of the text from the Book of Wisdom:

“For when peaceful stillness encompassed everything and the night in its swift course was half spent, Your all-powerful word from heaven’s royal throne leapt into the doomed land” (18:14-15).

We ponder this great mystery hidden in the poorest parts of the world. This great mystery revealed for the lowliest of humanity is our great gift …. today! Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium resonates in the secret depths of my heart. Wishing you a blessed and holy Christmas Day!