"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

-- Luke 2:11


What can one say about Christmas? It is the Alpha event of God's redemption of the World. It is a religious story that is so unlike any other. The Power that created the Cosmos steps down low and takes the form of a newborn baby; a form so riddled with fragility and vulnerability that one still gasps at the mere thought.

Miraculous mercy was bestowed upon us all some 2000 years ago. And even today, as we celebrate the Incarnation one more time, we are reminded that it is love- not might- that has, is, and will overcome the World.

-- Darren King




The Christ-child stood at Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him
And all the stars looked down.

-- G. K. Chesterton




"For us, however, in these northern climes, and with our traditions and associations, Christmas could not well be better placed than where it is. Nature is in slumber, as if in death--fit picture of the sleep of man till roused to righteousness by the voice of the new-born Babe of Bethlehem. Life is at its lowest, and death reigns, or seems to reign everywhere. Saving the thick-berried holly, the mistletoe, dear to Druid priests, the laurel and the yew, the trees are bared, and the warblers of the sky avoid their desolate branches. We are driven inward. The fireside is the centre of a thousand charms. Home is clothed in its most beautiful garments. We are forced to the conclusion that we need other help than Mother Earth can give us. Our hearts open instinctively to heaven and its message, and with willing feet we haste to do the will of Him "Who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor."

-- Unknown




"God framed the history of the world in view of the coming of Jesus Christ. In the very beginning He chose a family whose line of descent should run directly from Eden to Bethlehem. This family God took into covenant with Himself, and the promise of the covenant was that of its seed Christ should be born in the fullness of time. This covenant-line runs through the whole of the Old Testament as the golden thread runs through the beautiful fabric. Everything centers in this covenant-line. It unifies the Old Testament. It is the cord upon which the pearls of history are strung. Keep this in mind, and it will explain a thousand mysteries and perplexities in reading the Old Testament."

-- David Gregg




"Let us all rejoice in the Lord. For our Savior is born into the world; today true peace has come down on us from heaven. We have heard ... that "Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is born in Bethlehem of Judah." My very soul has melted at the sound of these words and my spirit is burning in my bosom, eager with its constant ardour of desire to communicate to you its own joy and exultation."

-- St. Bernard




A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;
It makes no noise at all,
But softly gives itself away.

-- Eva Logue




"The chief charm of Christmas is its simplicity. It is a festival that appeals to everyone, because every one can understand it... A genuine fellowship pervades our common life--A fellowship whose source is our common share in the gift of the world's greatest Life which was given to the whole world."

-- Arthur Reed Kimball




"The nativity teaches us, as does the Bible, that in God's creation everything has its purpose and place. Plants and animals are for man's physical life as the basis for the realization of mortal man's spiritual development and the worship of Him, who gave us all the breath of life. Man's spiritual and moral obligations toward all animals is one of stewardship, not for his pleasure or amusement. As the Steward of Creation, he is obeying God's moral command."

-- Kathryn Boggs




"The place that the shepherds found was not an academy or an abstract republic; it was not a place of myths allegorised or dissected or explained away. It was a place of dreams come true."

-- G.K. Chesterton




"What good is it that Christ was born 2,000 years ago if he is not born now in your heart?’
"Lord, we do far too much celebrating your actual coming in our hearts. I believe in God, but do I believe in God-in-me? I believe in God in heaven, but do I believe in God-on-earth? I believe in God out there, but do I believe in God-with-us?
"Lord, be born in my heart. Come alive in me this Christmas! Amen."

--Meister Eckhart




"It is easy to think Christmas,
and it is easy to believe Christmas,
but it is hard to act Christmas."

--Unknown




"Here’s a novelty, (I am) a religious Jew who wants to put Christ back in Christmas.

While Christmas is not my holiday, I would like to see it celebrated in a spiritual fashion by those who keep it....

Both Christianity and Judaism came into a blood-drenched pagan world and civilized it with their concept of an omnipotent God who demands righteous conduct....

The more Christian, in the true sense of the word, America becomes, the more morally sensitive it will be and the better for all of us — Christians and non-Christians, atheists and agnostics alike."

--Don Feder




"God became man, not so that he might be with us, but so that we might be with him. In other words, the incarnation is the starting point of our divinization.…It comes about so that, having become in a sense ‘divine,' we may be capable of effectively working with Christ to rebuild the world for the glory of the father. We are thus not passive bystanders at the incarnation. The incarnation radically transforms the history of the world and the personal history of each of us. Because of it, each of us must measure up to God's plan and play his proper role in it."

--Adrian Nocent




"A novice master once responded when asked about a life lived in Christian authenticity, said that to be a Christian was not to know the answers but to begin to live in the part of the self where the question is born.…He was speaking of an attitude of listening, of awareness of presence, of an openness to mystery."

--Wendy M. Wright




"It might be easy to run away to a monastery, away from the commercialization, the hectic hustle, the demanding family responsibilities of Christmas-time. Then we would have a holy Christmas. But we would forget the lesson of the Incarnation, of the enfleshing of God—the lesson that we who are followers of Jesus do not run from the secular; rather we try to transform it. It is our mission to make holy the secular aspects of Christmas just as the early Christians baptized the Christmas tree. And we do this by being holy people—kind, patient, generous, loving, laughing people—no matter how maddening is the Christmas rush."

--Fr. Andrew Greeley




"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. "

-- Hamilton Wright Mabi



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