This original and simple greeting comes on top of the traditional Christmas card with the heading from the Gospel of John: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory proper to the only Son of the Father, filled with grace and truth.” The words of the Sacred Scripture come with the following text: “The Prior General and the community of the General Curia wish that the coming of the Son of God may bring you a Happy 2009 Christmas and a prosperous 2010 New Year.”
And following the practice initiated last year in the official website of the Order, the religious offer some texts of Saint Augustine, which have reference to Christmas for meditation and prayer.
Sermon 185
“It is called the Lord’s birthday when the wisdom of God presented itself to us as an infant, and the Word of God without words uttered the flesh as its voice. And yet that hidden divinity was signified to the wise men by the evidence of the heavens, and announced to the shepherds by the voice of an angel. And so we celebrate this day every year with great solemnity, because on it was fulfilled the prophecy which said, Truth has sprung from the earth, and Justice has looked forth from heaven (Ps. 85:1) Truth, which is in the bosom of the Father (Jn. 1:18), has sprung from the earth, in order also to be in the bosom of his mother. Truth, by which the world is held together, has sprung from the earth, in order to be carried in a woman’s arms. Truth, on which the bliss of angel is incorruptibly nourished, has sprung from the earth, in order to be suckled at breasts of flesh. Truth, which heaven is not big enough to hold, has sprung from the earth, in order to be placed in a manger. (Translation from The Works of Saint Augustine, III/6, New City Press)
Psalm 141
“Let us announce to the peoples his glory, to all the nations his wonders. He lies in a manger, but he contains the world; he sucks from the breast, but he nourishes the angels; he is wrapped in diapers, but he covers us with immortality; he is breastfed, but adored; he does not find a place in the stable, but he builds a temple in the hearts of believers. So that weakness might be made strong, strength was made weak. He may be an object of admiration , before his disdainful birth in flesh and may we recognize in it the humility of so great sublimity for our sake. Let us light in it our charity in order to arrive at his eternity.”