Church of Jesus Christ of the Universe

By Mauro

2 Sam 7, 1-5.8-11.16; Ps 88; Lk 1, 67-79

We know that every feast, every solemnity, brings special, extraordinary graces with it. I think that today we must unite in a more particular way with Mary Most Holy, Saint Joseph and, I think, with the shepherds in order to experience these graces fully.

Imagine what it means to Mary Most Holy and St. Joseph to remember that time. I like the idea of them, in Heaven, talking about what that Night meant to them, what they felt when they welcomed the Son of God. What an incredible event it must have been for the shepherds when they saw the Archangels and afterwards found a child as a sign. Therefore, if we want these special graces to be imprinted on us and to work in us, then let us join in Mary and Joseph and listen to them so that they may tell us what Jesus’ birth meant to them.

It is undeniable that during Christmas time, all humanity, at least the believers, have a greater openness. They are all much more available, and they seem open. For me, the trouble is that we do not remain on that level, in that dimension after Christmas but return what we were before. Therefore, I ask again: how can we ensure that these graces remain within us, increase and bear fruit?

When we hear these words, “To us a son is given,”[1] it is undeniable that we rejoice, and everything seems to blossom again, we are reborn and it is as if everything returns to life. The memory of our calling, of the first encounter with the path, with the Eucharist and with grace awakens in us. The light grows, and so does the understanding of God’s mind so that we know Him a little bit better.

It is undeniable that, in these days, negative thoughts, old thoughts, fall away. We are able to see with ease what is useless, and just as easily we recognise what counts for God’s Love. We can say that feelings of guilt and fear disappear, everything calms down; it is a placid night. In this process lie the extraordinary graces that, when accepted, lead us to fullness, to our identity as children of God.

However, as I said, we have to go through a process for this joy to remain, for this hope to reach fullness. The process is the one Isaiah[2] expresses in the readings of the night. Jesus carries His Kingship on His shoulders; it is the Cross. If we do not let the Lord lift the yoke we have put on ourselves …. He came to lift it, and we must allow Him to do it. The path is that we must hand over to Him the yoke that the world, the life situations, the problems we have experienced, have sometimes imposed on us. Jesus wants to take it away from us. It is part of His Kingship that He carries on His shoulders: the Cross. He wants to nail the yoke to the Cross, and He begins with it today. He came to Earth, and He knew even as a child what He had to do. His mission was clear to Him from, the Day He was born: today.

Thus, Christmas is a beginning because we begin to follow Him; it is a beginning for Jesus to act truly freely  in us; it is a beginning for the shepherds because that grace remained in them; imagine how frightened  they must have been when they saw the Angels and heard them signing. You know what happened to the shepherds: they were persecuted. Some of them were killed, or their children and families were killed, but they kept that grace and remembered the sign, which was the child in the manger. They did not see great miracles; they experienced grace. Then, as they remained faithful to grace, Jesus transformed them. He gave them the strength to live as children of God, and at the beginning of His public mission, He reunited with them. However, for thirty years the only memory they had was the child and His mother.

To live immersed in grace, we must follow Jesus. We always come back to the same words: we must be faithful to what we have touched, to what we have heard, to what we have seen, even when it becomes blurred and when darkness comes. Then, we will remain immersed in grace. When faithfulness increases, love also increases; when love increases, knowledge increases; when knowledge increases, we become able to understand the meaning of life, and this understanding will increase until we, too, become people who give life as Jesus gave it. We become soul spouses, as Jesus asked us to be two years ago, souls that are spouses of Christ.[3]  That is being Christian. It all starts today, and this is the path.

We are living in difficult times, and I would like to convey my wishes to you with the words of John Paul II: “Do not be afraid”.[4] Let Christ become more and more the centre of your life. Remember that fear is often the fear of placing Christ in the centre, of losing what we hold in our hands and of leaving it to Christ. Therefore, do not be afraid; let Christ be free to act in you. Do not be afraid of offering yourselves totally to Him. Do not be afraid to give yourselves up, to let go of your fears. Note that fears are always connected to needs. Do not be afraid to leave behind your needs and all those things that seem fundamental and essential to you. Do not be afraid! Let us be conquered by Christ. He sacrificed Himself completely for us. How can we be afraid? Can we be afraid of a child that gives Himself totally to us? Of a Mother who offers Her Son to us, offering Him even under the Cross? For us, I will add this: how can we be afraid after all the things we have seen and touched? Let yourselves be conquered by Christ.

May the joy of this Holy Night, the joy of these Christmas days, be indelibly imprinted in you. May this joy shake you in the face of the situations you want to escape; when you seek other sources of joy; when you do not want to follow Christ even though you know that it is the only way; when you seek justification; when you want to manage your life according to your mind. May the joy of the Holy Night be present and enlighten the soul of all of you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

[1] See Isa 9,6

[2] See Isa 9,1-6

[3] See Message of Jesus of 24 December 2020, “The Souls, Spouses of Christ”, published in the book, “Towards the New Creation – Vol. VII – Collected Messages 2020”, p. 128, and in the category Messages by Year  on our website, https://towardsthenewcreation.com/

[4]  On the day of John Paul II’s inauguration, 22 October 1978, in his famous speech he said: “Do not be afraid. Open, I say open wide the doors for Christ!“