The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-12-21
HRfsTMAs-THEG GREATEST DAY
OF ALL THE YEAR.

It is a fact that no one will deny
that Christmas is the greatest day OF
all the year-greatest because Coos
day. the day when the Son of God was
born to earth; the greatest because it
is mans day when men were born
anew to God their creator, through
Christ the new Adam, God and man at
once, the Redeemer of the world. This
festival belongs to no nation in partlc-
ular, but to all in general. All peoples
and all climes rejoice in it, and even
those who do not believe in Christ pe-
Iieye, nevertheless, in the day and
signa1ize the same by relaxing from
labor and giving way to pleasure ana
to mirth.
It is the Christian alone that can
fully appreciate what the Christmas
festival means, and it is he that rises
TO the worthy celebration of it by re-
1igious observances which tell OF faith
in Christ as the Son of God made man
to save the world, and of gratitude
that the thought inspires, and the
signs of love accompanying it. Where
ever the cross caps the church tower,
Bethlehem and it's manger throne are
remembered on Christmas morn; the
people's Joy abounds and with hymns
of nraise and thanksgiving all hail
Christ their Saviour and confess Him
their Lord and adore Him as their
God Heaven and earth are reconclled
bv Christ who for our sake took hui
manity that He might satisfy infinite
Justice by infinite atonement. The
crih foreshadowed the cross which
contaminated it, and the birth OF
Christ at Bethlehem was the forerun-
ner of His death on Calvary. 1t is
this thought that runs uppermost In
the Christian mind and heart on
Christmas day, and it is this that
prompts the 10y and inspires the graft
tude that are seen on every side. Ii
is this that finds vent in stirring words
of faith and makes the world resound
with deeds of goodness and love. But
grand and praiseworthy as all this is,
it is in the temples of the Catholic
Church that faith and love find their
climax in the outpouring of the mil
lions present at the Offering OF the
Holy Sacrifice, of which Bethlehem
and Calvary, the crib and the cross,
find their elimination in Chr1st's
presence on the altar, where, as
the Lamb of God, He is daily Of
fered as the victim and atonement that
taketh away the sins of the world. 1t
is on Christmas day the faithful feel
this more than on any other, and they
gather in every nation and under every
cline, potentate and peasant, rich and
moor alike, and with the same sacri-
fee the festival day is celebrated; our
divine Lord Himself being the chief
actor in it's worthy commemorat1on,
and rightly so; for He alone can give
the homage and gratitude worthy His
own divine self The churches are
ablaze with lights, the affairs are
weighted down with flowers, the walls
are festooned with greens, the crib
with the infant Saviour holds the place
of honor, the priests are clad in rich
est vestments, music peals from organ,
and gladstone, exultant voices sing out
the Joyful strains of "Glory to God
in the highest and peace on earth to
men of good WILL" the same that the
angels sung on that blessed night well
nigh two thousand years ago.
The preacher speaks in assuring
tones the words of peace the angels
brought from God Himself, and the
faithful are touched with sorrow for
their sins and resolve henceforth to be
men of goodwill, that they may ever
enjoy the peace and friendship of God.
They see that it is to the good and
humble, the pure and simple of heart
that Christ comes, for His presence
was made known to the shepherds
that, coming, they might adore Him.
It is only by being pure that one can
see God-for thus runs Holy Writ
and so the rejecting Catholic soul
feels that he must first have his sins
removed by having recourse to the
sacrament of Penance before he can
worthily look upon his Lord and Saw
our, much less receive Him in his
heart. This is the grace that abounds
at each Christmas-tide, and for those
who respond to it, it comes with in
creasing power with every annual
recurrence. The good, pious heart
draws nearer to it's God with every
added year, for it feels the time is
shortening and that it soon will be
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