"Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him..." (Revelation 3:20) A collection of my Sunday homilies for Holy Mass as well as some occasional talks and reflections. May my words enable you to hear the voice of Christ, who asks that you open the door to Him. Please share this podcast with others if you benefit from listening to it.
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Christmas Day! The Nativity of the Lord! There are many reasons to rejoice. There are many reasons to be thankful. There are many ways to show our love and devotion to our Saviour. A blessed and happy Christmas Day and Season to you all.
If you would like to contact me to provide feedback, suggestions or to ask questions you can do this via email:
frpchandler@armidale.catholic.org.au
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Today, Christmas Day is a happy outcome. It's a happy outcome for us because we have spent four weeks of preparation, including prayer and penance, turning our minds and hearts towards God again. It's a happy outcome for us because our time of preparation is completed, and now we can rejoice as we celebrate again the birth of the Saviour. It's a happy outcome too for our lady and Saint Joseph, as the birth of any child is, it brings to end the pregnancy time, and the child is now visible to both mother and father. This particular birth, though, is not any ordinary birth as we know. It's the birthday of the Savior, and as he is born on this day he becomes visible to the world. God took upon Himself human flesh so that he could be visible to the human race. He could work walk this earth. His voice could be heard, his face could be seen. What should our response be on this day? Yes we can stand at the Christmas crib, the nativity scene, and we can be filled with tenderness and warmth, we can have a sense of awe and wonder as we contemplate the great mystery of the Savior's birth. But I think even more we should be down on our knees in thanksgiving. For if Christ had not been born, if God the Son had not taken our human nature flesh and blood to himself, then the world would still be under the dominion of Satan. In Christ in him is our salvation, and for that we should be thankful. Just like at every birth the child born lives a life, and there is more to the person born than their birthday, so there is more to this day than just the birth of the Savior. We should honor his birth every day of our life. We should give thanks to him every day of our life. We should pray every day of our life. We should follow his commandments every day of our life, and we should come to mass every Sunday at least for every year of our life. We cannot celebrate the Savior's birth if we do not keep him as part of our life for the rest of the year. Otherwise it's a passing day. It may have some wonderful aspects to it, but it's a passing day. Let us keep the birth of our Savior. Let us keep the salvation that He won for us alive in our life every day of this coming year. He will help us to do that. If we ask Him, He will help us to grow close to Him. He will help us to love Him. O Lord Jesus, born on this day, we thank you. Lord Jesus, born on this day, we praise you. Lord Jesus, born on this day, help us to be your faithful followers. Amen.
