The Christmas Message of Hope (shared from www.divinemercy.org)

St Faustina’s Christmas St. Faustina truly loved Christmas. For her, Christmas was about the birth of Jesus, the promised Messiah. As a poor nun, living far from her home, she probably didn’t receive many gifts. If you read the Christmas passages in the Diary, on every occasion, Jesus told her that her heart was His delight and His resting place. These words of love from Jesus must have been the greatest gift St. Faustina could have ever received. Like many great saints, she also had beautiful visions of Jesus as a small child during Christmas. On Christmas Day, 1934 during Midnight Mass, the child Jesus appeared on the Altar dressed in a white pinafore. She described Him as “incomparably beautiful” and said “the whole time the Infant kept looking at everyone, stretching out His little hands”. (Diary 347) St. Faustina also saw Mary holding her child during this Mass, which she told St. Faustina was the “secret of her happiness”. (Diary 346) If you’ve ever held a new born baby, you will understand the powerful feelings this can stir. It must have been truly amazing for Joseph & Mary to know they were holding the Messiah in their arms that glorious night.   The Christmas Story The beautiful passages we read during Mass at Christmas always provide us with new and interesting insights into this mystery. But probably the most important message is that the Messiah was not born in a posh house or fancy hospital. From the very beginning, Jesus was amongst the poorest of the poor. In November 1935, He told St. Faustina, “Today, penetrate into the spirit of My poverty and arrange everything in such a way that the most destitute will have no reason to envy you.” (Diary 532) Although we are all forced to deal with the commercial aspect of Christmas nowadays, and it is nice to give and to receive presents, this must not become the main focus of Christmas. The problem is we could miss the opportunity to really engage our faith in our rush to get everything done.   The Christmas Message of Hope The Christmas story is a message of hope. But not just the hope that the promised Saviour was born so that our sins might be forgiven, but practical hope also. If you read the story of Christmas, you will see how, even though everything seemed to be going wrong for Joseph and Mary, God was taking care of them all the time. There was a very distinct reason why Jesus was born in a stable. Can you imagine how terrible St. Joseph must have felt when he couldn’t get decent accommodation for his heavily pregnant wife or Mary who must have suffered so much physical pain without a comfortable bed to lie in? And yet the providence of God was caring for them all along. This is an important message for us this Christmas as we all face into uncertain economic times. As we feel the pressure of our Christmas expenses build up, we must look to the story of Christmas in our hearts and trust that God is watching over us. We must learn to trust that, even if things are going wrong, God knows and God cares.   Learning to Trust Every day we hear tragic stories in the media about our economy, our church and our society. Our faith gives us something to hold onto when times are tough. Our Catholic faith helps us to see what is truly important in life. Our faith is also our source of joy in life. Its wisdom guides us as we walk along the rocky path. The Churches Sacraments nourish our souls and inspire our minds. The more we understand that God’s ways are the best ways, the more secure we feel in life and the more happiness we experience.   Christmas and Divine Mercy Learning to trust in Jesus is the purpose of the devotion to Divine Mercy. The story of Christmas helps us on this journey towards complete trust in God. This Christmas season we must try to carry St. Faustina’s vision of the child Jesus in our hearts to remind us of the beauty of this mystery and let ourselves be inspired by God’s message of hope interwoven into the story of Christmas.