Christmas is heaven breaking into our humdrum world

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dec. 19, 2010
Fr. Anthony Brankin
Gospel: Matt. 1:18-24. The angel”s command to Joseph

Summary: When I was a child in the sixth grade, my brothers and I had already lost that special feeling of wonder about Christmas. The Christmas spirit had given way to thoughts about what gifts we would get. And yet, on Christmas morning, something supernatural happens to us. Another world from beyond visits us in our hum-drum world. Christmas is heaven breaking into our earth.

Saint Francis de Sales’ “little virtues” of gentleness, kindness, humility, and cheerful optimism shape the monastic life of the Visitation Sisters. Consider a life of prayer and teaching. Washington, DC.

The smells and sights of the season are part of the traditions of Christmas, and these traditions can bring back the era where innocence and belief come together. For example, when we were children we did not eat meat on Christmas eve. This is a wonderful tradition that gives us a sense of waiting for the morning, when the natural and supernatural come together.

We need to start believing again, like children who believe in angels, the Virgin, and the baby Jesus. This was the most momentous birth in human history, when God Himself has come to earth so that we can ascend into heaven.