Quote/s of the Day – 24 December – Christmas Eve!
“Awake, mankind!
For your sake God has become man.
Awake, you who sleep,
rise up from the dead
and Christ will enlighten you.
I tell you again –
for your sake,
God became man.”
“Let us then joyfully celebrate
the coming of our salvation and redemption.
Let us celebrate the festive day
on which He who is the great
and the eternal day
came from the great and endless day of eternity
into our own short day of time.”
“Ask if this were merited;
ask for its reason, for its justification
and see whether you will find,
any other answer
but sheer grace.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
“I began our meeting by speaking of Christmas as the Feast of Faith.
I would like to conclude, though, by pointing out that Christmas
reminds us that a faith that does not trouble us is a troubled faith.
A faith that does not make us grow is a faith that needs to grow.
A faith that does not raise questions is a faith that has to be questioned.
A faith that does not rouse us is a faith that needs to be roused.
A faith that does not shake us is a faith that needs to be shaken.
Indeed, a faith which is only intellectual or lukewarm is only a notion of faith.
It can become real once it touches our heart, our soul, our spirit and our whole being.
Once it allows God to be born and reborn in the manger of our heart.
Once we let the star of Bethlehem guide us to the place where the Son of God lies,
not among Kings and riches but among the poor and humble.
As Angelus Silesius wrote in The Cherubinic Wanderer:
“It depends solely on you.
Ah, if only your heart could become a manger,
then God would once again become a child on this earth”
Address of His Holiness, Pope Francis to the Curia
21 December 2017
AnaStpaul 