by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann
Our celebration of Christmas, the miracle of the incarnation, cannot be compressed into a single day. Our liturgical and spiritual focus on the birth of the Redeemer continues through the solemnity of the Epiphany.
God’s plan for our redemption, to rescue sinful humanity, is so remarkable that it is beyond human imagination. God pursues us seeking to transform us by his merciful love by: 1) becoming an embryo in the womb of Mary; 2) being born in the humble circumstances of the Bethlehem cave; 3) growing up in a small village in an inconsequential area of the world; and 4) spending most of his adult life as a laborer, a carpenter. In the end, the Creator of the Cosmos allowed himself to be falsely accused and condemned to a humiliating and painful death on Calvary.
When the Creator God humbled himself to be born as any infant, there were no celebratory parades, fireworks or glitzy celebrations. The only human audience was the nearby shepherds, who — to use Pope Francis’ language — were part of the peripheries of society. They fit well St. Paul’s description in 1 Corinthians of the early church: not wise, not powerful, not of noble birth, but rather considered by the world foolish, weak, lowly and despised.
This is the final Christmas during the three-year Eucharistic Revival in United States Catholic Church. Many secularists and even some of our fellow Christians find the Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist to be too good to be true. How could God be in what appears as no more than a simple piece of unleavened bread?
Yet, when you consider that God chose to become a human embryo and to be born as helpless as any infant, there is a consistency in Jesus’ desiring to make himself present to future Christians in something as unassuming as a piece of unleavened bread. God appears to delight in surprising sin-fractured, prideful humanity by choosing to present himself humbly and always showing a preference for the poor and low-born.
The same all-powerful God, born an infant in Bethlehem, the City of Bread, and laid in a manger, the food trough for animals, makes himself present to us at every Mass. The Creator of the Cosmos makes himself into the Bread of Life to unite himself with us and to nourish us on our journey through this world.
During the 12 Days of Christmas, may our awe and gratitude for the child born in Bethlehem, the Word-Made-Flesh who desires to become for us the Bread of Angels, deepen and grow. What could possibly be more important than adoring the God who loved us into existence and whose mercy for our sins knows no bounds? What could prevent us from receiving the Bread of Life come down from heaven? Why would we choose not to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, who comes to us in this Blessed Sacrament in order to deepen our communion and friendship with him?
On Christmas Day, we see in our crowded churches the potential Mass attendance for every Sunday. For many years, my maternal grandparents were Christmas and Easter Catholics. They brought my mother and aunt to Mass on only those two feast days.
I am very grateful for the dedication and zeal of the parish Legion of Mary members, who visited my grandparents several times during the year, encouraging them to place their daughters in the School of Religion and to come to Mass weekly. By the time I knew my grandparents, in addition to participating faithfully in Mass every Sunday, my grandmother was the parish secretary and my grandfather kept a eucharistic Holy Hour every Saturday morning from 2-3 a.m.
My mother became a lifelong member of the Legion of Mary and participated in daily Mass. Every night, our family, including my grandparents, prayed the family rosary.
I urge you during 2025 to accept the Eucharistic Revival’s invitation to Walk with One. After receiving the Eucharist, ask the Lord what one person, perhaps a family member, neighbor, friend or co-worker, is he asking you to accompany? Once the Holy Spirit has inspired you to pray for a particular person, then remember them daily in your prayer and make personal sacrifices as intercessory prayers for their spiritual welfare.
Before speaking about faith, make a commitment to spend more time with this person. Get to know them better. What inspires and motivates them? What are the challenges and adversities of their life? Having deepened your relationship with this person, share in a very natural way the importance of your friendship with Jesus and the difference he makes in your own life. Ask them what intentions you can pray for them.
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, invite them to pray with you or to read a passage of the Gospel with you or to pray a rosary together or to join you in a time of silent prayer at your church or eucharistic adoration chapel. At some point, invite them to attend Mass with you. Respect their desires. If they decline your invitations, continue to spend time with them and deepen your friendship with them.
If every member of the archdiocese chose to Walk with One, think about the difference this would make in the lives of individuals and in the life of the church. If much has been given to us, much will be expected from us. There is no greater joy than being an instrument to lead someone to a deeper friendship with Jesus.
For those of us who have experienced the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, how can we fail to share this priceless gift with others? What do we have to lose? For 2025, let us ask the Lord to give us the courage to Walk with One!
O Sacrament Most Holy! O Sacrament Divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine! Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!
