Christmas 2022 Homily
There is a saying that I agree with, and the Knights of Columbus even have magnets for cars that say this phrase - “Keep Christ in Christmas”
Again, I agree that we should Christ in Christmas, but it is important to also say “Keep the “Mass” in Christmas.” The -mas at the end of Christmas means “Mass” just like we have "Michaelmas", which is a Mass in honor of Saint Michael the Archangel, and “Candlemas” which is a Mass where we process into Church with lit candles in honor of Mary bringing the Christ Child, the true light of the world, into the temple for the first time, so as well we celebrate tonight “Christ’s Mass”.
The event that we remember and celebrate tonight was Jesus being manifested to the world for the first time 2,000 years ago, and so as well, on this altar, at this “Christ’s Mass”, when a priest says the Words of Consecration over bread and wine, they instantly become Christ once again manifested to the world. And so it is good to be here with you tonight!
I would like to tell a brief story about Poland, and a Christmas Midnight Mass.
In 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland, which triggered WWII. The same day that WWII ended in 1945, Poland found itself behind the iron curtain, now under the brutal oppression of the Communists. So Poland suffered brutally for decades.
I mention all of this to say that in 1959 a young bishop Karol Wojtyla, who would become St. Pope John Paul the Second, started having a Christmas Midnight Mass OUTSIDE in a city that had been built by the Communists, and that Christmas midnight Mass was usually well below zero like it is tonight.
100,000 Poles showed up for that first Christmas midnight Mass, outside…imagine that…100,000 people outside, below freezing temperatures, but they were there for Mass 100,000 strong, and the Polish people showed up at every subsequent Christmas Midnight Mass until the Communists relented and in 1977 the Ark Catholic Church was built, the only time a Communist nation has allowed a Catholic Church to be built.
It is well below zero tonight, but we are here celebrating Mass.
In our world today Communism and Socialism are once again on the ascendant, but just like Herod, just like Pontius Pilate, and just like the rulers and lords of our day, every ruler who runs up against the Christ Child is doomed.
The Devil and the Communists and Socialists play the long game, but God’s plan is prior to their plans…Christ’s plan existed before the world was even created!
We rejoice tonight at the birth of the Savior Jesus, as He once again appears on our altar tonight. We gather this night and at every Mass to give thanks for the greatest gift of all time…the gift of Jesus Christ.
A coalition of pro-life organizations has launched a life-affirming advertising campaign that will place billboards in the exact locations California Gov. Gavin Newsom raised pro-choice billboards that were criticized as blasphemous.
In response, a coalition of pro-life organizations has launched a pro-life billboard campaign. The billboard includes an image of a man, and a woman distressed over a positive pregnancy test. The text on the billboard reads: "Save Sex for Marriage. Plan Your Future, Not Your Abortion." Further, the billboard says, "Over 85 Percent of Abortions Are Performed on Unmarried Women." It invites individuals to visit a website, AbortionlessFuture.com, which includes information about abstinence and a link to pro-life crisis pregnancy centers.
"We need to have a conversation in this country – including in the pro-life movement – about the true cause of most abortions," said coalition spokesman Mark Harrington. "The billboards are intended to remind people of the inconvenient truth that the main driver of abortion is irresponsible sexual activity."
A news release from the pro-life coalition quoted CDC data that said the abortion ratefor married women is 46 abortions per 1,000 live births, but for unmarried women, it is 412 abortions per 1,000 live births.
The Newsom billboards were "blasphemous," the news release said.
"If men and women stopped having sex outside of relationships truly committed to protecting the lives of the babies they create, the demand for abortion would largely disappear," the news release said. "Pro-life resources could then focus on helping families welcome their unexpected additions."
