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The Giver has become the Gift, as all gifts are meant to be given away. The best gift we can give to Jesus, the gift He truly desires, is the gift of our hearts, our very selves. The poinsettia is the “flower of the holy night” because it blooms during the Christmas season and resembles a shining Star of Bethlehem, which was first used by Franciscan priests to decorate nativity scenes in the 1600’s in southern Mexico. God shows we can trust Him and have no need to run from a God who became incarnate as a defenseless yet divine infant. Unassuming, the mighty hand of God is outstretched from the manger, to later be outstretched on the cross in love to ransom us. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

“When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we proclaim Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly … we are not disciples of the Lord.”

~Pope Francis

The most visited Catholic shrine in the world is the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. In the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mary stands on an upturned crescent moon. A sunburst of gold rays also surrounds her. Saints insist we can never love Mary too much, since none of us are capable of loving the Mother of God as much as Jesus, her Divine Son.

When John the Baptist criticizes the Pharisees as a “brood of vipers”, he’s giving them an opportunity to humbly reflect on the disconnect between their preaching and lofty ideals alongside the daily actions stemming from their hearts. It’s a stern but poignant warning to all of us. We need to eat the locusts in our lives and humbly wait on the raw honey the LORD provides with His presence in word and sacrament.

“It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.”
Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility