From today’s Gospel:
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And what makes Mary blessed?
And the angel said to her:
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
Blessedness comes not from something we have done or have achieved.
It is something that God does to us.
We are blessed when God is with us.
We are blessed not because we deserve it;
but because God wills it.
God does not call or bless those who are worthy;
but he blesses and makes worthy those whom he has called.
This is what Christmas is about.
The birth of Emmanuel – God with us.
Through the birth in the manger, God blesses humanity
This is the mystery of the Incarnation – God made man.
In spite of our weaknesses and incapacities, God comes to us.
Through the Incarnation, he capacitates and enables us.
He has given us the gift of life – unasked for and unmerited.
Through the Incarnation, he brings fullness and fulfillment to that life.