Dear Friends in Christ,
An Advent season of just three weeks has not given us very much time to heed the call of St. John the Baptist to “prepare the way of the Lord.” This shortened runway has probably meant that we have been busier than ever in the lead-up to Christmas, maybe even more frazzled than usual, and not as ready spiritually as we would like to be. The Christmas rush seems to get ever more rushed, and we do our best to manage it all.
What a consolation then, to remember that Christmas is not so much about what we do, but about what God has done for us. Cardinal John Henry Newman (canonized in 2019) once wrote in a sermon that the special charm of Christmas is that Christ comes to us as our guest. And in that coming, Newman notes “He brightens everything. He does not take away, he adds. He makes the world our home, for he deigns to be the light of it.”
In this busy season, with all that is pressing in on us, may our hearts be attuned to Christ who comes to us as the Son of God, the Word made flesh, the Savior of the World. Let us open our hearts in welcome because, ready or not, here He comes!
May His coming fill our families, churches and communities with light and joy this holy season.
Yours in Christ,Bishop Daniel Miehm
