Homily for Christmas 2023
Christ’s Mass
Back in
the early 1800s, a small community of Catholics moved up to Goshen, NY, which
at that time was quite the backwoods. They would see a priest only
occasionally, as the priest would have to ride horseback amongst many hamlets
in the Catskills, some of which were hundreds of miles away.
However,
they were thrilled to have the priest coming for Christmas Midnight Mass in 1847.
Although a small congregation, they did the best they could to beautify the
church with decorations, candles, and a small handmade manger scene. They all
looked forward to the beauty of the Mass.
But
then…snow. A blizzard blew in from the north, covering the village. The people
were heartbroken, knowing that the priest would be unable to come for Mass.
Nevertheless they made the best of a bad situation and decided to gather in the
church at midnight to pray and sing hymns as best as they could.
The
people gathered at a few minutes until midnight, when something quite surprising
happened. The bell was rung, and all of a sudden from the sacristy (where the
priest prepares for Mass), a priest that they didn’t recognize stepped forth
and began the Mass. The people were overjoyed and poured their hearts out to
God in gratitude. It was one of the most amazing, solemn, sacred Masses they
had ever assisted at. When Mass was over, the priest went back into the
sacristy to unvest, and the people waited for the priest to come back out, to
thank him and greet him. But as they waited…and waited…and waited, no priest
appeared. They went into the sacristy, but he wasn’t there. They then opened
the back door – and there were no footprints in the snow. The people were in
awe – the priest was clearly an angel of some sort. It was a true miracle, witnessed
by dozens – and they were overjoyed that they got to celebrate Mass that
Christmas.
The word
“Christmas” itself comes from the Old English for “Christ’s Mass”. It is a
holiday that is primarily focused around the Mass and the Eucharist, not the department-store
Santa and the fruitcake and the Bing Crosby songs. Consider the connections
between Christmas and the Eucharist – Christ was born in the town of Bethlehem
– a town whose name means “House of Bread”. He Who is the true Bread from
Heaven was laid in a manger – a feeding trough. It is as if He was already
making the point that He would be giving us His flesh to eat in the Holy
Eucharist!
Consider,
further, the vulnerable love we see in both the Eucharist and the Divine Infant
in the manger. In both cases, God purposely makes Himself small and
defenseless. He wants so desperately to be near us that He is willing to hide
His glory and place Himself at our mercy. His desire to be one of us led to Him
taking flesh; His desire to be one with us leads to Him taking the
appearance of bread, although it is truly His Body. Just as He was willing to
risk rejection, loneliness, and suffering while living on earth, so He is
willing to stay in our tabernacles night and day, alone and forgotten, because
of His burning love to be close to His people.
So as we
look at this beautiful manger scene – and perhaps you have one in your home –
never forget that the same Jesus Christ, God-made-man, is not just a figure
constrained to history. No, He is truly alive today – not just in some distant
heaven, but in every tabernacle in every Catholic Church in the world, and at
every Mass in the Eucharist.
Never
has it been more fitting to sing that Christmas song: O Come, let us adore Him.
Yes, the angels and the shepherds and the magi came to adore Him two thousand
years ago in Bethlehem. But we have the privilege of adoring Him tonight, truly
present in the Holy Eucharist - and not only tonight, but every time we come to
Mass – Even when it’s not Christmas, it’s always Christ’s Mass.
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