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The Christmas Cycle
It is the Sun, the Redeemer, whom we await. “I am the light [the sun] of the world” ( Jn
8:12). Christ is the light of the world because of the faith which He has infused into souls.
He has enlightened the world by His teaching and by the example of His life. In the crib, in
Nazareth, on the cross on Calvary, in the tabernacle of our churches, He answers the eternal
questioning of the benighted soul.
By the light of this Sun all is made clear. Men come to a new knowledge, a true and certain
knowledge of their origin and their destiny. From Christ they learn that God is a loving Father
who recognizes them as His children, and who wishes them to be eternally happy with Him.
Man comes to a correct knowledge of himself and his relationship to God. He learns the worthlessness
of all that is passing and temporal. He begins to understand the value of obscurity, the
joy of suffering, the regenerative power of charity. But Christ gives more than knowledge; He
gives new strength, new hope, new ideals. “I am the light of the world.” From Christ comes all
true life: all understanding, all happiness, all prosperity, all power.
O eternal Sun, come and enlighten us, for where Thou art not, there is darkness, death, and
wickedness. “Come and enlighten all who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
“But now [you are] light in the Lord” (Eph 5:8). In the Church the light has now appeared to
us on the first Christmas night, on the day of our baptism, daily in the Mass and at the time of
Holy Communion, and in the many inspirations and promptings of grace. How thankful we
should be for this light, which is Christ.
But we have yet to reach the full measure of the stature of Christ. Alas! we let ourselves
be burdened by earthly sorrow, we are distracted by the excitement of the moment, and our
spiritual growth is hampered by our attachment to the things of this world. Fervently we should
repeat that plea of Holy Mother the Church, “O dawning Sun of righteousness, come and
enlighten us, who yet sit in the darkness of suffering, of human reasoning, and of self-love.”
The light of Christ will be revealed perfectly only when we meet Him at the time of His
second coming. Then we shall be brought into the light of glory, and we shall “shine as the sun
in the kingdom of their Father” (Mt 13:43).
Prayer
O Dawn of the East, brightness of eternal light and Sun of Justice, come and enlighten all who
sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen.
December 22, O Rex Gentium
“O King of the Gentiles and their desired one, Thou corner-stone that maketh both one, come
and save man, whom Thou hast made out of dust.”
“A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return” (Lk
19:12). This nobleman is Christ, the Son of God, King of all nations. His kingdom is over all
men and over all things, both material and spiritual. He has everything in His hand as God and
man. But another, Satan, has broken into His kingdom and has made himself master of many
of Christ’s subjects. In the old dispensation only a small part of humanity, the chosen people,
remained faithful to the almighty King.
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