Contemplating the true meaning of Christmas is only possible through God’s freely bestowed gift of faith. This gift, one to be nourished, guarded and cherished above even temporal life itself, gives to the soul new light, aspirations, and abilities, each ordered toward the attainment of the treasure of infinite value: the beatific vision and everlasting communion with God.
Doctrine
Pope Francis: The Eucharist is our Spiritual Lifeblood
The Eucharist is the spiritual life-blood of the Christian because in receiving it we consume the glorified body of the Risen Lord, whose life transforms us, elevates and empowers us to become like him. Pope Francis noted that in receiving the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, God communicates interior attitudes of holiness to us, infusing our hearts and minds with his own love and his own thoughts, through the wondrous presence of Jesus and the divine impulses of the Holy Spirit. Among these interior attitudes is “First of all docility to the Word of God.”
The Divine Liturgy: Sacred Action of Christ and His Body, The Church
In the sacred, earthly liturgy the work of our redemption is accomplished as we participate in the fullness of divine worship, consume the Risen Lord, and receive a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy celebrated in the holy City of God (cf. SC 1, 2, 8, 47).
The Immaculate Conception
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ”
Reflection: “Go Into The Whole World And Proclaim The Gospel To Every Creature”
It is so unfortunate that so many fail to look for and embrace the beauty of the Catholic Church Christ so wisely and lovingly established in the midst of the world. Many trudge through each day, their heart aching for happiness, their intellect craving that Truth for which there are no words to describe.