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One Bread, One Body - Reflection for December 24, 2023

A "MARY," MERRY CHRISTMAS

"Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be...?' " –Luke 1:34

To have a true Christmas, to meet Christ at Mass in a new, glorious way during the Christmas season, we must have a "Mary" Christmas and love Jesus as Mary does. To have a "Mary" Christmas, we should:

• not fear (Lk 1:30),
• be filled with God's grace (Lk 1:30),
• have "the Holy Spirit...come upon" us (Lk 1:35),
• believe that "nothing is impossible with God" (Lk 1:37),
• rejoice in being the Lord's servants, that is, the slaves of the Lord (Lk 1:38),
• "let it be done" to us according to God's Word (Lk 1:38),
• trust "that the Lord's words" to us will "be fulfilled" (Lk 1:45),
• proclaim "the greatness of the Lord" and find "joy in God" our Savior (Lk 1:46-47),
• "be pierced with a sword" of sorrow (Lk 2:35),
• "do whatever [Jesus] tells" us and tell others to do the same (Jn 2:5),
• be at the foot of Jesus' cross (Jn 19:25), and
• together devote ourselves to constant prayer for a new Pentecost (Acts 1:14).

A "Mary" Christmas is a Christmas of faith, joy, self-sacrifice, obedience, evangelistic zeal, redemptive suffering, praise-filled worship, and constant prayer in the Holy Spirit.

"Mary" Christmas!

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Acknowledgement

Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:

· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College