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m ' ' t ' ■ of Atlanta A HOLY HAPPY CHRISTMAS SERVING GEORGIA’S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES VOL. 2, NO. 51 ATLANTA, GEORGIA \ fPfrTV:-' 4 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1964 $5.00 PER YEAR // >7 N \V ' " - • .i •? chmshmi l I Hi • L The Church speaks: “Behold, the fullness of time has cornel Now God sends forth His Son into the world, born of a virgin, subject to the Law, to redeem those under the Law.'* (Letter to Hebrews 1,2) Did the “fullness of time," O Lord God, reach only to that night in Bethlehem? Or does it stretch through the centuries to our Christmas, 1964? How often can “now" be repeated? You sent Your Son into our world. As Alexander sent troops into the East, as Pope Gregory sent Augustine to England, as Wilson sent Pershing to Europe? Or, is there a clue, Lord, in St. John Chrysostom: “What was done in one man might not be done in all". Does the new Liturgy Constitution clarify why Christmas keeps returning: “so that the riches of the Lord's power and merits are in some way made present for all time". W’hat is that way, Lord? II. The Father speaks; “My Kingdom is established forever...I have raised up a chosen one from my people". (Psalm 88) Was it Abraham, Moses, David? Was it Buddha or Mahomet? Was it brother hood, democracy, decency? Why, O God, are we kneeling on Christmas night at the crib of a Jewish child? Ill. The Shepherds Speak: “Whom have you seen, O Shepherds? Speak, tell us, who has appeared on earth?" “A Child we saw, and choirs of angels praising the Lord!" (Lauds of Christmas) The Shepherd’s eyes were opened. Lord, open our eyes too. You have brought us by our baptism out of the shadows of yesterday. You have invited us to share in the eternal sunlight of past, present and future. Now DIALOGUE IN DECEMBER AN ENCOUNTER AT CHRISTMAS we have stepped out of the museum of plaster infants and plastic angels. Lord, You have given us a new breath of life, — of real life where the single act of Bethlehem is but the beginning of, and preparation for, a greater, permanent dwelling of ‘God with us'through the risen humanity of Your Son.” IV. The Son speaks: “The Lord said to me; 'You are My Son; this day I have begotten you!" (Introit of 1st Christmas Mass) In these words of your Son, O God, we find our own identity. You are our Father as well as His. Were it not for Christmas, we could not dare to call you, “Our Father!’’ But he invited us to do sol He told us what you do for mankind; our little gifts during this season seem insignificant when we recall that the Son told us; “If you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you". Because he calls us his Brothers, we can through him call you Father. V. The Apostle speaks; “The goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared: not by rea son of good works that we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us.” (Titus, 3, 4-5) Lord, now we are at the heart of this dialogue, and we find that dialogue is not enough. If you do not redeem us, we stay unredeemed, —unransomedfrom the slavery of sin, unlettered in our ignorance of your was. It is not enough to hope for salvation; we must hope in our Savior. VI* The Son speaks again: “Not all who say 'Lord, Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom”. Dialogue, Lord, is after all only talk. But salvation is impossible without an encounter, since ‘all real living is meeting!’ Infant and mother, — whether in Atlanta or Bethlehem, — do not engage in dialogue, Theirs is a real encounter, — a meeting and an ex- A' change and a result. It is not enough, Lord, for us to talk of the “I - Thou" relationship we have with you. Thanks to Bethlehem, it is a true encounter: — on your part, a disclosure of yourself through revelation; on our part, a response through our service religion. This encounter, 0 God, creates our history. VIL T he Church speaks again: "This day Christ is born, this day the Savior has appeared." (Antiphon at Vespers) On Christmas night, Lord, the gospel was first heard. Our history was re-created. The face of the earth was 1 renewed. Bethlehem became God’s home, not a sleepy Judean town. The lake of Galilee was destined as a setting for your divinity; Calvary grew taller, by the distance of a cross and its culprit. Thus, Lord, was history made. VIII. Another Apostle speaks; “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us”. (John 1, 13) Your birth. Lord Jesus, was an event of history. But Your coming was something more permanent. It is j not just remembered by the Church; it is not merely repeated in a feast. It is the Church’s essence, j Christmas has never ended. Our dialogue comes alive. Our encounter is real. You have called our times to a fresh renewal in our hearts. With the Church we pray on Christmas — “That as the Savior of the world, born on this day, is the cause of our divine birth, So may he also give us to live forever”. (Post communion, of 3rd Mass) (L >. /