And the Word Became Flesh

     “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, all things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. He was in the world and the world came to be through Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to what was His own, but His own people did not accept Him.  (Jn 1 vs 1-5, 14, 10-11).


     When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, it became clear that the Babe in her womb, the Word of God, was to be born. The town was teeming with others who had come to register in the City of David. Every place Joseph turned for shelter, they found rejection. The inns were all filled! They turned them away and sent them off. It was not their problem. Let somebody else help them.


          Can you imagine the anxiety that St. Joseph experienced? He was given the task by God to care for Mary and God’s Son, Jesus. He must have felt beside himself with worry. This was not what he expected at all. This is the promised Messiah, which all Jerusalem had been awaiting. They turned Him away, unaware.

      "He came to His what was His own, but His own people did not accept Him" (Jn 1 vs 11).

     Today in our world, many reject or do not think about God. He has been banished from the public square. It becomes more apparent during the Christmas season. “Merry Christmas” has been replaced with “Happy Holidays.” To many, Jesus is NOT the reason for the season. Their celebrations have become secularized into a time to celebrate, forgetting to open their hearts to the sweet Babe of Bethlehem.

     Our time is filled instead with the hustle and bustle of what really seems to matter to us. We have time for shopping, but not for confession. The basketball game gets priority over time spent with Jesus before the Blessed Sacrament. No time for Mass. There’s a football game! Attending the dance recital is more important than the Christmas pageant at church.

     “And she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Lk 2 vs 7).

     Open your heart to Christ. Make room for Him in your life. Immerse yourself each day in His Word, Holy Scripture. Receive Jesus in Holy Communion. Visit Him often, truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Do not turn Him away. Say yes to the Infant!

     Try to make up for all those who forget about Our Lord. Pray for them. Make sacrifices so the blindness they experience will be removed. Ask God to transform their hearts to be a place where Jesus can come to lay His head.

     Tell Jesus you love Him. Thank God the Father for the great gift of His Son. Make it a practice, each and every day of your life, to make God a priority. May you never turn Him away!

“But for those who did accept Him He gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (Jn 1 vs 12).

     Embrace your identity as a child of God and pray “Come Divine Child and dwell in me, for I truly desire to live only for Thee!”

     Open the door to your heart! Jesus is there knocking.

     “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door to Me, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev 3 vs 20).