“THE WORD BECAME FLESH; he lived among us, and we saw his glory.” (John 1:14)  (from the Gospel for the Midday Mass on Christmas Day)

'So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in a manger'

From T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets:

‘We had the experience but missed the meaning.

‘Human kind cannot bear very much reality.  

‘And all is always now. Words strain, crack and sometimes break, under the burden.

‘The hint half guessed, the gift half understood, is Incarnation.’

‘The Word became flesh’.   ’Et Verbum caro factum est!’   ‘Et incarnatus est.’

Incarnation:  How can we cope with this wonder, except in silence?

Have a Wonder-Filled Christ-Mass!  Because ‘The Word became flesh’ !

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From John Betjeman, Poet Laureate: CHRISTMAS:

‘And is it true? and is it true?
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,
A Baby in an ox’s stall?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me?…

No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare -
That God was Man in Palestine
And lives to-day in Bread and Wine.

— John Betjeman (1906 – 1984)

Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R.  seamus.devittcssr@gmail.com