THE GOOD NEWS
ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN

December 17, 2006

The Good News

...A Blessed Christmas

May you have a most blessed Christmas. May the Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God, bless you in a very special way during this Christmas season.

The Christmas story is rather simple but deeply profound. God so loves the world that He sent His Son Jesus to save us. Jesus came and redeemed us.

The coming of Jesus was hardly noticed by many people of His time.  The fact of His coming is of little  concern to many people today. In one way, Jesus is probably acknowledged by more people in history than anyone else. On the other hand, He is also ignored, certainly not followed, by many who have heard of Him.

When Jesus came to our world, He did not appear in Divine Splendor which would have frightened us. He came as one of us. He took our weak human nature, our flesh, our blood.  He was born as a little baby. He came as our brother as well as our Savior.  Jesus is truly one of us but He also always remains the eternal Son of God.

In His own words, Jesus tells us that He came to reveal to us the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. He came with Good News for all who would hear Him, for all who would believe in Him. He came to share His own life with us so that we could have life everlasting in heaven with Him.

Yes, this simple but profound  message of God’s love is what Christmas is all about. This is what human life is all about. We exist for a reason, for a very special purpose.  We exist because of God’s love.

Through our daily experience, we become aware of our own existence.  The awareness of that truth, the fact that we exist, spawns many  questions. Where did we come from?  How did we get here? Why are we here? Where are we going? Is death the end of us or do we live beyond death? Is there really such a thing as life everlasting? If so, where is it and why?

These and all such fundamental and important questions find responses through reason and faith.  Through reason we can discern certain truths such as the very existence of God. One who exists before all else. One who is eternal, all powerful, all good. Through Revela-tion, we learn the more intimate realities of this good and gracious God. Through Revelation received in faith, we literally are able to know, love and serve God. We receive His love and love Him in return.

God created us because He is love. He created us out of love and in such a fashion that we could receive His love and love Him in return. It was for this reason that God sent His Son Jesus into our world, because He loves us and desires our loving response.

Christmas is the day on which we annually celebrate the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem. It is truly a celebration of Good News. Christmas brings us God’s love. Christmas offers us Jesus as our Lord, our hope, our savior. Christmas is a time for rejoicing.

This is the reason why I, as your Archbishop, truly hope and pray that you will have a most blessed Christmas. May you and I cherish this grace-filled time, knowing that the Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God is blessing us in a very special way during this Christmas season.  May we always rejoice in this presence of God who is with us now and forever. Merry Christmas!