The Solemnity of the Lord’s Nativity is heralded today all over the world. We become grateful for the Lord has been born to us, “a Savior is given us” and He is called the “Emmanuel” which means “God is with us.” Today’s readings focus on the value of Christmas for the entire world.

1. The New Messenger- In the First Reading today, the Prophet Isaiah announces that there will a future messenger illustrated as the “feet” who will run through the mountains to announce the Good News and no long a messenger announcing war, conflict, and strife. In the past, messengers cross the mountains as reconnoiters who ran to announce advancing troops with horses, armies with bows and arrows ready for war. It was understood before that peace has to be obtained by war. “If you want peace prepare for war” (si vis pacem para bellum). Everyone would be in fear because of an imminent war and no one is sure of his life to be spared. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the day that the messenger would now be announcing peace instead of war. He speaks of a lively environment with peace: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings.” The messenger will now announce this four news: “announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, “Your God is King!” This is the first time that the words “good news” had been mentioned in scriptures. In the New Testament, it will be mentioned 54 times. “Good News” would come from the Greek word: “euangelion” which has two separate words- “eu” which means “good” and “angelion” which means “messenger.” Thus, the Prophet Isaiah had announced around 600 years before the birth of Christ. He will be the New Messenger, a Good Messenger.

2. The Son- The Second Reading today clarifies that the messenger which was prophesied by the Prophet Isaiah is a “Son.” For to which of the angels did God ever say: You are my son; this day I have begotten you? This messenger is the “Son of God.” It was for 400 years that God kept silent. In the history of Israel, this was called the “400 years of silence” this was from 400BC to 1BC. It was a time of political upheaval experienced by Israel with Roman, Persian and Greek rule. God did not send any major prophet after the time of the prophet Malachi. John the Baptist was the only major prophet before the coming of Christ who prepared the way of the Lord. God hid his face and did not attend to the needs of Israel because they forgot the value of the Temple, they did not listen to the word of God, they did not pay attention to the meaning of the Temple sacrifices, and the neglect of the needy and the poor. But after 400 years of silence, God showed his mercy once more to Israel. The mercy of God was not shown by sending a new prophet but sending His own son. The Letter to the Hebrews says: “Brothers and sisters. “In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word.” God now speaks to us through His Son as direct involvement in human affairs and symbolizing God’s intervention in human undertaking.

3. The Word as God- The messenger is the Son and He is also God. The Gospel of John in today’s reading substantiates our knowledge of God’s messenger and Son as different from the prophets and as the sons of Israel. He is God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” Christmas is a moment of renewal and rediscovering our Christian faith once more by believing in Christ as God and He is far important from any material thing, relationship, event, and plan in life. Celebrating Christmas is setting priority of God in life and appreciating why God has to send His Son to us- it is all about Mercy. In the Genealogy of Matthew, it was announced that the genealogy was all about the forebears of Christ as Son of David, the Son of Abraham. It was John the Evangelist who added that He is the Son of God.

The Feast of the Holy Family is assigned on the last Sunday of the Year and at the same time it is the feast on the Sunday that follows immediately after the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. It is just and right that the Church invites all Christian families to revisit the Holy Family and rediscover the grace it brings to every family in the world. Pope Francis said: “Every family should look to the icon of the Holy Family of Nazareth.” (AL 30) Let us look at the message that the feast would like to instill in every heart of the Christian family in the world today.

1. The Family as the First School of Faith- It was St. John Chrysostom who called the family as the “ecclesia domestica” or the “domestic church.” It is called a domestic church because of the gift of faith that the family hands on to the succeeding generation. It is in the family that a person is introduced to the Christian faith. It is in the family that a person is educated in prayer because the ultimate vocation of humanity is holiness of life. To say that the family is the first school of faith means that it is in the family that the children learn to call on God as Father and the Trinitarian revelation of God. The Book of Sirach, in the first reading reveals the 5 promises of God that gives to a person who has the sense of family. a) Forgiveness of Sins: “Whoever honors his father atones for sins;” b) Prayers are heard: He who honors his father, “When he prays, he is heard; c) abundance: “he stores up riches who reveres his mother;” d) Long life: “Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;” e) Comfort: “he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.”

2. The Family is the School of Deeper Humanity- The family has to be understood as community of persons. It is not just a group of people nor a gathering of things but of persons which John Paul II said: “All members of the family, each according to his or her own gift, have the grace and responsibility of building, day by day, the communion of persons, making the family “a school of deeper humanity.” (FC 21) To be a school of deeper humanity, the family has to be with love and service: John Paul II continued to say that: “this happens where there is care and love for the little ones, the sick, the aged; where there is mutual service every day; when there is a sharing of goods, of joys and of sorrows. (FC 20) In the second reading today, St. Paul emphasized the value of love as an indicator that family life is a family of persons with love. He said: “Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord.” This indicates that wives can be subordinate to their husbands inasmuch as it is for the love of the Lord and besides, he exhorts husbands to “love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them” which clearly illustrates that one can only be obedient and submissive only in the context of love. Love is the virtue that makes the family a communion of persons. It is just sad that many use the acronym FAMILY to define and indicate the vocation of the family. For many, FAMILY means “Father and Mother I Love You” but this is incomplete because there is reciprocity. How about the love of the father and the mother towards their children? It may promote divorce and separation anyway, children are their to love their father and mother in their absence in the family.

3. The Family as the Icon of the Trinity- The Christian family mirrors the Blessed Trinity because the vocation of every family is holiness of life. In the past, every Jew has to be obedient to the Torah or the Law of Moses to develop and foster holiness of life. A disobedience to the Law was tantamount to wickedness and sinfulness. By the coming of Christ, the Holy Family has been the source of holiness. The Trinity becomes the source and model of holiness of life. Benedict XVI said: “The human family, in a certain sense, is an icon of the Trinity because of its interpersonal love and the fruitfulness of this love.” The holiness of life is achieved through one of the most difficult human experiences which is suffering. The Gospel today describes the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt because of the danger it faces with Herod who was after of the Child. There are four important things to reflect on: a) the holy family had to travel far for days into Egypt alone. It was not easy but their obedience gained God’s protection; b) the holy family had to begin everything in Egypt which was a place alien to them. They knew no one and they had to earn their daily needs; c) the holy family had to stay in a non-Jewish place. It was a place of the Gentiles and a place away from the rites and practices of the Temple; and d) the holy family had to stay there for years because they had to wait for the death of Herod.

Today, the Church remembers its first martyr, St. Stephen. He was a deacon serving in Jerusalem preaching in the synagogues about Christ that made the Jewish authorities accuse him of blasphemy. It was believed that St. Stephen existed from 5 BC to 34AD. There are 3 important elements for reflection in the feast of St. Stephen.

1. Name- Stephen comes from the Greek word “stephanos” which means “crown.” As revealed to us in the first reading, we may say that the grace of being crowned surfaces. He had four crowns namely: a) he was filled with grace and power; b) prominence because he performed signs and wonders among the people; c) he was endowed with wisdom and the spirit and people noticed that every time they debated with him; d) he was crowned with martyrdom that merited in him the name “protomartyr” of the Church.

2. Witness- All that Jesus spoke about the price of being a disciple were all fulfilled in St. Stephen. The Gospel truth that Jesus was speaking of with regard to true discipleship was witnessed by St. Stephen. He was stoned to death and Jesus said earlier: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.” St. Stephen will be emulated as one who witnessed to the words of Christ.

3. Conversion- one of the greatest contributions of the martyrdom of St. Stephen was the conversion of St. Paul. While St. Stephen was stoned to death, we were told that as “They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.” Saul became a witness of what a true Christian was. No resistance, no revenge, and no hatred but to surrender and give one’s life in the name of Christ. St. Stephen gave his life that a person like Saul, a persecutor of the Christians may live just as Christ died on the Cross that all may live. After the conversion of Saul, his name was changed into Paul who will become the great preacher and missionary to the Gentiles.

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. It was widely known as the Feast of the Three Kings who visited the infant Jesus bringing with them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Before the celebration of Christmas which was assigned on December 25 was brought to Rome, Epiphany was considered as Christmas in the Eastern Churches and it was celebrated on January 6. Epiphanius of Salamis said that Christmas is celebrated on January 6. He was the Bishop of Salamis, Cyprus also asserted that together with the feast of Christmas on January 6 was the celebration of the wedding at Cana. In the East, the celebration of the Epiphany included the birth of Jesus, the visit of the Magi, the baptism of the Lord, the wedding at Cana, and all of the events in the Childhood of Christ. The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek word “epiphaneia” which means “manifestation” or “appearance.”

1. Star- One of the important images of Epiphany is the star. The use of this image indicated the clear sign that the feast of the epiphany was of an Eastern origin. The Persians, Babylonians, and Arabians were great astrologers who studied the movements, brightness, and the meaning of the formation of the stars. The brightness of the star became an important link to the identity of Jesus. Jesus is revealed now as the light of the world. Epiphany was also known as the feast of the light. Benedict XVI said: “The Wise Men followed the star, and thus came to Jesus, to the great Light which enlightens everyone coming into this world (cf. Jn 1:9). As pilgrims of faith, the Wise Men themselves became stars shining in the firmament of history and they show us the way.”

2. House- Another image which was important was the house. Matthew mentions about the house as the venue where the Magi found the Child and His Mother. This is quite different with the presentation of the nativity scene according to Luke where Jesus was born and witnessed by the shepherds in the manger. The mention of the house is important to Matthew because of three reasons: first, Jesus was a descendant of David’s house; second, the house indicates that the Holy Family became a resident of Bethlehem and Jerusalem just before they escaped into Egypt; and third, the house emphasized that Jesus was a king and the magi offered their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. It was also customary in the past to have houses blessed on this day. Inscribed on the jamb of the door 20+C+M+B+26 to indicate “Christus Mansionem Benedicat” which is translated as “Christ Bless this House.” CMB was also linked to Caspar, Melchior, and Baltazar to easily remember the Latin phrase.

3. Wise Men- The wise men were astrologers coming from the East. This indicates that the Child who was worshipped by the “nations” represented by the Magi is prophetically known as a universal Savior. As the nations now were drawn towards Jesus as seen in the Magi, later in the Gospel, Jesus will send his disciples to the nations: “Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Mt 28:19). St. Paul calls this as the mystery that is shared to the Gentiles. As the preacher and missionary to the Gentiles, St. Paul said: “You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for your benefit, namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation. It was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

4. Gifts- The gifts of the Magi were indicative of the Christology and identity of Jesus as known in the East. The magi opened their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which were indicative of the confession of faith in Christ. Gold represents the Kingly identity; frankincense represents the Priestly identity, and myrrh represents the suffering Servanthood of Christ. The number 3 is importantly emphasized here to symbolically identify Jesus as God for the number 3 is a perfect number among the Jews that is reserved for God.

5. Dream- As the Magi were warned by God not to return to Herod but to return back their country through another way has 5 important points: first, the Magi stayed with the Holy Family for quite a time which made their encounter with Christ more profound; second, taking another way back home is indicative of renewal and new life after their encounter with Jesus; third, the warning not to return to Herod indicated that a true encounter with Jesus means staying away from sin and wickedness; fourth, the word that the Magi received entails obedience and peace; and fifth, the silent adoration of the Magi was a beginning of a new spirituality manifested in their “new” way back home.