December 25, 2024 // The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) (Holy Day of Obligation)
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel from the Mass at Dawn: Luke 2:15-20
Reflect on the Word//
Swish, swish, swish proclaimed my snowpants as I entered my church for Midnight Mass one Christmas Eve many years ago. I parked my cross-country skis in the narthex and did my best to quietly enter the darkened church, my abundance of winter gear covered in equal parts of sweat and snow. Never before had I cross-country skied to Mass (and never since, mind you), but a blizzard that particular Christmas Eve kept the city sidewalks unshoveled, giving me the snow I needed to make the journey.
“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem
To see this thing that has taken place,
Which the Lord has made known to us.” (Luke 2:15)
That story of the shepherds from the Gospel of Luke enlivened my heart that Christmas Eve as I made the multi-hour round trip in the dark of night. Many years later the story of the shepherds still speaks to my heart. They didn’t respond to the angels’ greeting with apathy or doubt or resentment that the Lord hadn’t come sooner (What took You so long, God?). No, they went in haste to Bethlehem to see “this thing that [had] taken place,” and they returned to their fields glorifying and praising God.
Do I respond “in haste,” I wonder? As I rediscover the manger with the Christ Child yet again today, do I live with the same anticipation, the same joy, and the same gratitude as those shepherds? I pray that the Lord will dispose our hearts this Christmas to approach Him like the shepherds did that first Christmas morning. Sister, pause with me before the Christ Child; look at Him in your prayerful imagination. And then let us return home glorifying and praising God for the miracle He has done again in our hearts this Christmas.
This holy season we are asked to see with the eyes and hearts of those dear shepherds. We are here with them, in this sacred scene of Bethlehem.
Relate to the Lord // Spend a few minutes in your holy imagination at the manger in Bethlehem. On this day of His birth, give Him your heart as a gift.
Karen Schultz hails from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, where she is often found in or near one of them. As a doula, lactation educator, and FertilityCare Practitioner, she finds joy in helping women to embrace the gift of their bodies. Downtime is found in quiet adoration chapels, farmers markets and gardens, and listening to bluegrass music. She is the author of Blessed Conversations: Misericordia.
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