Father Gagne's 2021 Christmas Message

Christmas 2021

Dear Parishioners,

St. Matthew begins chapter five of his gospel with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus introduces a series of teachings with the familiar “Beatitudes.” The Beatitudes form the basis for all the teachings of Jesus. They outline the attitudes and behaviors that we, as followers of Jesus, are called to possess.

The word blessed, or more correctly, congratulations, precedes each behavior that Jesus wants us to adopt in our relationships with others. Each expression brings with it a reciprocal benefit for the one who observes them.

The Beatitudes are the way God chose to reveal himself, through his son Jesus, to the human race. Christmas celebrates the moment when the eternal word of God became the beatitudes in flesh. God became meek in Jesus and lived among us. Meekness is essentially an attitude or quality of heart whereby a person is willing to accept and submit without resistance to the will and desire of someone else.

The love of Jesus calls us to submit and accept without resistance to the will and desire of someone else. The love of God revealed in Jesus is the power of God revealed in his meekness toward us. Jesus became the servant of all by giving his life for the many like a lamb led to the slaughter, and he offered no resistance to those who crucified him. In meekness, he forgave those who drove in the nails, and in meekness, he promised paradise to the thief who repented.

In a world torn by strife and the abuse of power, it is the Christmas event that reveals the power of God’s love. We need never be ashamed to show this love by living the beatitudes. To be a peacemaker, to mourn and weep, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to show mercy, and most of all to be meek, is to be a true disciple of Jesus.

The following words from the prologue of John’s gospel reveal the identity and mission of Jesus: “The word became flesh and made his dwelling place among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. He was in the beginning with God, and he was God. What came to be through him was life, and the light was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

May the love, peace and joy of Emmanuel, God with us, be in your hearts this Christmas and throughout the coming New Year. You will have a special remembrance in all my Masses at Christmas and throughout the Christmas season.

Msgr. Iacovacci and I wish you a Blessed Christmas and thank you for your prayers and support during this past year.

Father Gagne