Christmas reminds us that, as Mary did, we have to bring Christ into the world.  Patterning ourselves after Mary, we have to allow Christ to emerge into the world by saying “yes” to God’s plan for us, cooperating with the gift of His Holy Spirit.  We cannot keep Christ and our commemoration of His birth to ourselves; He must be shared and proclaimed.  This sharing goes much deeper than celebrating Christmas by attending Mass, gathering with loved ones, and trimming the tree.  It means speaking - with our words and actions - what God does for us.

​Mary is the model for us to imitate if we want to know how to respond positively to God in our life.  Mary’s “yes” and life-long cooperation with the Holy Spirit show us what makes for a robust Christian.  If we follow Mary’s example, we are fulfilling our God-given call to aid the Church in her mission to bring about the transformation of humanity into new life in Christ.  Through our words and deeds, we have to present Christ to the world so that all might benefit from this new life He desires everyone to benefit from.  Living a robust Christian life is not about practicing our faith in the closed circle of those who happen to believe what we believe; it means being animated by a missionary impulse.  These following words, written of Mary, remind us of that:

“Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary.  Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator.  See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter...Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving” (St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Virgin Mother).

Following Mary’s example, speak the truth of Christ to those who doubt and challenge; offer Him praise in prayer and worship; dedicate your very body to carry on His work where life takes you.  This Christmas, let us dedicate ourselves anew to giving “birth” to Christ, allowing Him to emerge in our time through our practice of a robust Christian faith, patterned after Mary’s example.

​David J. Conrad

Silence can be excruciating and uncomfortable for most people. The ‘anechoic chamber’ at Orfield Laboratories in South Minneapolis is 99.0% sound absorbent and holds the Guinness World Record as the world's quietest place. The longest anyone can stand the silence and has stayed in the chamber is about 90 minutes or so (you can hear the blood rushing through your veins…). On the other hand, silence can prepare you for something wonderful. Silence can prepare us to listen. The founder of Orfield Laboratories says, “When it's quiet, ears will adapt. The quieter the room, the more things you hear.” Silence can heighten our anticipation of what we will hear when the silence is broken. In music, silence (rests), are critical for framing any sound.

​Luke tells us the story of a night that most likely was in April, at the time the shepherds would be out in the fields at night watching their sheep. A young couple has made their way to Bethlehem to register for the census. They can't find a place to stay, so they are offered a place where animals would shelter from the elements, probably a small cave in the side of a hill outside of town. Although the city was bustling with the census crowd, the outskirts of the village was quiet.

Luke doesn't give us too many details. He merely says:

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. The silence of the night was broken by the cry of a newborn child. Then, in the quiet of the night in the fields an angel announces good news and there's a multitude of the heavenly host breaking that silence with singing. Suddenly, after 400 years of God’s silence to the Jews, there are words all around because maybe God's people are now so hungry to hear from him that they will truly listen. And who are the first ones who hear from God about this? Those who were waiting in silence—in the quiet of the night out in the field with their flocks, those whose ears have been prepared to listen.

Christmas can be a silent time for many people. Maybe you haven't heard from your relatives in a while. Or the doctor met with you and this will be your first Christmas season with the cancer. This may be your first Christmas alone because someone left. You may be out of a job or worried about a job and not sure how you'll pay next month's rent. In the silence you've prayed and you've asked, “How long?” and you don't think you've been heard. You're wondering if God is absent or God is mad at you or God just has nothing to say to you.

So here's the Christmas story for you. The silent night is broken by sound. God hasn't forgotten you. He came as a baby and his name is Immanuel—God with us. The baby's name is Jesus—and God saves. Your silence can prepare you to hear from your Father. His words are the same: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son...

May you listen well this Christmas season.

Keep singing!

Elizabeth Dyc