Fourth Friday of Advent

The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his Kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.

By becoming flesh, Jesus consecrated all of mankind to His Father and made us the adopted children of God and heirs to His kingdom. Nothing can take this away from us. God loves us as Himself, He loves us in a way that completes us. We cannot find a greater love than this. We can try to substitute people and things, but no matter how much we love someone or something it is a mere atom compared to the universal love God has for us. The Incarnation is just one of the ways God expressed His boundless love for us and as we celebrate this Christmas Eve, anticipating the Birth of Christ, we should also keep in mind what that birth means: God is with us because He loves us as Himself.

How do we give thanks to our Heavenly Father? How do we make Jesus a central part of not only Christmas, but every day of the year? What does the gift of the Incarnation mean for us?

O Lord, we give our whole hearts, souls, minds, and strengths to you in praise of the gift of your beloved Son.

Amen.