Abbot Philip Lawrence, OSB, the community of monks at Christ in the Desert and guests and visitors celebrated the Nativity of the Lord at midnight on Christmas day in a solemn Holy Mass.
Preceding the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the monastic community and those joining them prayed Solemn Vigils of Christmas with readings, sung prayers, and psalms. It was a time for meditating on the coming of the Lord and hearing the joyful news, as did the shepherds in the fields, that out of the Father’s great love us, He was sending His only begotten Son to be our Savior.
Abbot Philip offered his thoughts on the meaning of the Nativity of our Lord in his Mass homily. He asked us to keep in mind the mystery that the second Person of the Divine Trinity, the one Savior for all, the one God, came seeking us out to redeem us. He comes looking for us to draw us into His life. We all need salvation and God so loves us that He gave his own Son to save us. This is the central mystery on which we should focus at this time. The Abbot went on to note that God became a child, fragile and innocent, putting Himself into our own hands so that we could put ourselves into the hands of others by our service and love. But, the Abbot noted, this leads to the cross for ourselves as it did for Jesus, if we are to know the love God has shown us. But it is also through this self-sacrificing love that we come to share in the resurrection of our Lord.