December 25, 2005

When Christmas Day comes on a Sunday, which is the weekly celebration of the Resurrection of Christ, it makes especially vivid that Jesus came into the world to conquer death. The birth of Christ cannot be understood apart from his ultimate victory. Nor can it be separated from the beginning of creation. Thus St. John parallels the opening of the Book of Genesis, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," by declaring, "In the Beginning was the Word." The Word that uttered all material reality into existence took flesh in Bethlehem.

The four weeks of Advent have been a little catechesis on "The Four Last Things," without which there can be no profound appreciation of the mystery of the Birth of Christ: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. We are immensely privileged to have received from our Lord the revelation of these things. The Holy Child grew into manhood and he wants us to be mature in reverencing his holy mysteries. A culture which is spiritually immature ignores them and even tries to hide them. Pope Benedict XVI has written:

In European society today, thank goodness, anyone who dishonors the faith of Israel, its image of God, or its great figures must pay a fine. The same holds true for anyone who dishonors the Koran and the convictions of Islam. But when it comes to Jesus Christ and that which is sacred to Christians, freedom of speech becomes the supreme good.

This case illustrates a peculiar Western self-hatred that is nothing short of pathological. It is commendable that the West is trying to be more open, to be more understanding of outsiders, but it has lost all capacity for self-love. . . . Multiculturalism, which is so passionately promoted, can sometimes amount to an abandonment and denial, a flight from one's own things. Multiculturalism teaches us to approach the sacred things of others with respect, but we can do this only if we ourselves are not estranged from the sacred, from God.

True Christians reject attempts to camouflage Christmas among "happy holidays." I joyfully wish all of you a most merry Christmas. While many of our own parishioners travel away from the city on Christmas, many visitors come to us, some for the first time. As we gather, we remember those of the parish who are unable to leave home, who are in hospital, and those of our parish serving as soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere. We are united around the altar of the Eucharist with all the saints and angels and the faithful departed, worshipping our Saviour in the angelic song of the Thrice Holy. If we have kept a good Advent, we can rejoice that Christmas does not fade wearily on Christmas Day after a raucous and artificial attempt to celebrate it ahead of time. Christmas lasts twelve days and for those who worship the Incarnate God, it lasts a lifetime.

Fr. George W. Rutler