“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
Dear parishioners,
After four weeks of Advent, the church bells call us to the Christmas Mass to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s incarnation at the manger: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). At Christmas, every priest is allowed to celebrate three Holy Masses, thus depicting the three births of our Savior. The first Mass is held at night in memory of the eternal birth of the Word of God from the Father, as the opening hymn of the Mass says: “You are my Son, today I have begotten you” (Ps. 2:7; Heb. 1:5). In the second Mass, at dawn, we remember the birth of Christ from the Virgin Mary, while the third Mass recalls the mystical birth of Christ in us, to whom he gives “the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
Here the Church of Old Rome followed the venerable custom of the Church of Jerusalem, according to which Christians gathered in the cave of Bethlehem and celebrated the birth of the Lord by offering the Eucharistic sacrifice in the middle of the night. Afterwards, they returned to Jerusalem early in the morning. This moment was also commemorated by celebrating Holy Mass in the Church of the Resurrection. During the day, Christians gathered in the main church of Jerusalem for a solemn celebration of the Eucharist. This is how the custom of celebrating the Holy Sacrifice three times at Christmas came about. In Rome, the first Mass, the night Mass, was held in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, which since the end of the fifth century had housed a replica of the cave in Bethlehem where Jesus was born, and for this reason the basilica is also called Sancta Maria ad praesepe (Holy Mary at the manger). The second Mass was celebrated in the Greek church called Anastasis, which corresponds to the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. The third Mass was held in St. Peter’s Basilica. From Rome, the custom spread throughout the West, and since priests offer the Holy Sacrifice every day, they are allowed to celebrate three Masses at Christmas.
For us, the most important emphasis is the so-called third Mass of Christmas, which recalls the mystical birth of Christ into us through the heart. We must be “born again” (John 3:7), “born of God” (John 1:13) in order to become “children of God” (John 1:12). The mystery of Christmas is realized in us when “Christ takes shape” in us (Gal. 4:19). Christmas is the mystery of the “wonderful exchange”: “O wonderful exchange! The Creator of the human race took upon himself a human body, not by the seed of man, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was born of the Virgin as man, in order to give us a share in his divinity.” (Antiphon of the First and Second Vespers of January 1: Liturgy of the Hours)
In Christ, we are offered the right to be children of God for free! That is where true Christmas begins, here and now. True Christmas is built on two things: Christmas is the celebration of the Son of God becoming human – he came to save us from the power of sin and death. Secondly, we are born as children of God, no longer slaves to sin, when we accept Jesus as our Savior. When we receive Holy Communion at Mass, let us make room for the Word of God, who became flesh to save us and nourish us. In every Eucharist we celebrate, Jesus is born for us and is present for us on the altar, after the priest’s words of consecration, in the name of Christ through the Holy Spirit. God’s presence in the world did not happen only once at Christmas, but Christmas is now part of every Holy Mass. In this way, every priest actually celebrates Christmas every day, every time he celebrates the Eucharist. Christmas comes, Christmas goes, but the Lord is always near. He is always Immanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23). The presence of our Savior carries us in the midst of celebration, and it also carries us in our daily lives, in our work and struggles, in our joys and sorrows.
With all our hearts, we wish all of you, our dear parishioners and your families, as well as all people of good will, a truly blessed and joyful celebration of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ!
Fr Toan Tri Nguyen, parish priest
Fr Manh Chien Nguyen, chaplain
Fr Leonard Wobilla, chaplain