love made man

"Pour forth, 

we beseech you, O Lord, 

your grace into our hearts,

that we, to whom the incarnation of your Son was made known by the message of an angel, 

may by His Passion and Cross 

be brought to the glory of His resurrection. 

Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 

one God, forever and ever. Amen."
- collect prayer from the 4th Sunday of Advent (also prayed in the Angelus)

Truth be told, I actually wrote this post on Christmas Eve... but was so busy with family-related Christmas Eve gatherings, I never had the chance to post it. So... edited a bit since it's Christmas Day now...

When the hubs and I went to Midnight Mass (heh, this morning!), we sat in our usual spot - off toward the right side of the sanctuary, where (as in most, if not all Catholic churches) a crucifix hangs. 

Even on Christmas. 

This crucified Christ is the child, announced to a waiting world by the angel Gabriel - whose birth we will celebrate in mere hours.

It's interesting, isn't it, the contrast of Christmas with Crucifixion?

A child born to die. And moreover, the child who is God-made-man - is born to die, assuming our flesh in order to suffer all its pains. 

From that spot off to the right side of the sanctuary, the view of the crucifix hanging in the sanctuary is partially obscured by a beam in the ceiling. Depending on exactly where we are in the pew, I can often only see the feet of the crucified Christ - as was the case at Midnight Mass this year. 

Again, God-made-man. God taking on our flesh. The feet that walked those roads to Jerusalem. The feet that carried Jesus - the healer, the teacher - on all those dusty roads from town to town in his public ministry. The feet Mary Magdalene washed with her tears. The feet that were pierced on the cross.

Feet that walked because of a Heart that loved.

Several weeks ago at Mass, Fr. Tim mentioned a conversation he'd overheard in a restaurant - two men discussing whatever church they attended - and how they were sick of hearing "all of this stuff about love" - "why can't they talk about the tough stuff?"... And as he recounted this story, the first thing that went through my mind (and which was voiced by him in the same moment!) - was, "but that IS the tough stuff."

And it's true. Love is hard. It's not this fluffy, fun thing that most of the world seems to believe it to be.

Love is tough. And love is a choice. It's not always easy to love the people God puts in our lives: the guy on the street corner, the coworker that's always giving us hell, or -sometimes- even the person we married, if we are so blessed. What does that teach us? Love is incomplete  - and even lacks meaning - without sacrifice.

Love was the choice that Jesus made when He willed to take on our flesh, to walk among us as man, and to suffer the worst humanity had to offer - crucifixion... in order to gain for us God's greatest good - resurrection.

The real gift of Christmas is this gift of love, along with the reminder that love is hard. Indeed, the most perfect example of love comes to us in the night at Christmas, and journeys to the cross on that dark day we call good - Good Friday. (And darkness gives way to Light in both cases!) 

And so, we rejoice! Knowing the choice made by God, in love, for love of His people - to be born in time. God-made-man... Love-made-man. May He be born in our lives this Christmas - and may we share the joy of that love with a world that has forgotten what true love truly means. "Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts..."

+ Peace, good, and Feliz Navidad!