“GOD became what we are so that we might become what he is”.

That, my friends, is the mystery of Christmas, as summarised by Saint Irenaeus in the second century.

When we gather around the Christmas tree, when we open the gifts we have received, when we enjoy our mince pies and Christmas cake, when we come to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, we are celebrating that in Jesus, God became a human being, part of the universe he had created, so that human beings, despite our weaknesses and failings, might share in his divinity.

Every carol we sing proclaims that God entered fully into human existence, its pain and grief, its anguish and despair, from the moment of his birth in a shippen in Bethlehem, through his homeless wandering around Palestine, to his lonely and agonising execution as a common criminal on the cross. And in so doing, he made it possible for humanity to be transformed.

If you are one of the many people who are homeless or lonely this Christmastide; if you are ill, or in pain, or facing death, please remember that these 12 days celebrate more than the birth of a baby.

They proclaim that God loves you and wants you to be with him forever.

Deacon Lester Yeo

Crediton Roman Catholic Community