Christmas

Christmas is a season of profound joy because it celebrates the astonishing truth that God became man to redeem us. As St. Ephrem the Syrian wrote, in the cold month when seeds lie hidden, “there sprouted forth from the Womb the Ear of Life.” This is why Christmas overflows with song, warmth, and gifts because it reflects God’s own great gift of salvation. Even when the world tries to recast the day in humanistic terms, the carols still proclaim the unshakable victory: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.” The real joy of Christmas, however, is found in receiving our King, allowing His peace and power to reign within us so that, whatever our trials, we are “more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Calendar Christmases come and go, but the joy of Christ’s coming lives continually in those reborn by Him.