Are You Truly Dedicated to Christ?
"Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays"?
Photo By: Flickr/Danny Hahn
Contrary to what many people today seem to believe and preach, I for one, do believe that Jesus cares if we say “Merry Christmas”. Jesus did come to establish the Kingdom of God right here on this earth, the very start of that mission unfolded at his birth, through the incarnation we obtain our salvation, more specifically through the birth, life, passion, suffering, death and then the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christmas launches us into a new creation of Heaven and Earth, it begins the unlocking of the pearly gates and ushers in a whole new way to experience and relationship with God the Father through Christ His Son, in the Holy Spirit. So, yeah, Jesus cares if we use the term “Merry Christmas”.
Christmas means “Christ’s Mass”. Now, I know that in our society today many people reject the Mass, even though the Sacrifice is offered up every single day, in every place in the world, in all languages and at all times. So many still reject and walk away from this beautiful gift. Even Catholics reject this gift. I don’t get it, how can any Christian who truly professes love of God, walk away from even the tiniest, remotest possibility that Jesus comes to us body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist. How could any Christian not want that, not yearn for that intimacy that Christ offers us in this Sacrament, and why not err on the side of caution, just in case what those Catholics profess to be Truth, is indeed Truth?
Christ cares about the Mass. He did come and offer himself up as that ultimate Sacrifice. What could mere mortals offer God himself in atonement for our wickedness, our wretchedness, our death sentence through sin. Only God himself is worthy enough to atone for our unworthiness, and he does, he gives us the privilege and honor to offer up the Sacrifice of his Glorious Body, Blood Soul, and Divinity every day, in the Mass. You see, Sacrifice is the purest form of worship, it always has been, and it is the worship that God has commanded of us. God does not command us to hold rock concerts and inspirational speaking engagements. God commands us to offer sacrifice, and has done so from the earliest pages of Genesis. Cain and Abel offered their sacrifices to God, and God determined what was worthy and what was not.
So, Jesus does care about “Merry Christmas”. We can kid ourselves and justify our denial of this all we want, but that doesn’t make it Truth. Just as Cain and Abel learned, God does find some worship more worthy than others, and shines on those who follow His commands and not their own preferences and desires.
So, it will be Merry Christmas for me, even though Happy Holidays still does denote a religious message as well, for the word “holiday” actually means “holy day”, which Christmas truly is and will always be. So, Merry Christmas every one!
I hope that you truly can come to know and appreciate the majesty and the truly miraculous in this event we celebrate, not just on Christmas Day, but every day of the year.
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About the Author
I am a wife and mother of two grown sons. Although I am Cradle Catholic, I experienced a profound reversion to the True faith several years ago that motivated and inspired me to dive more deeply into an understanding of the Church and Her teachings, and why She has these teachings and where they come from. Surprisingly, for me, the more I read and discovered, the deeper my love of the Catholic Church and her teachings became. This certainly is a journey that doesn't end, and so as I uncover more amazing facts about our Faith and Church, I just can't help but want to share what I'm learning. So, I began writing for Catholic 365.
I have recently served for a year and a half as the Executive Director of a very active and busy Crisis Pregnancy Center on the West side of Cincinnati. God is so good and does answers prayers, even though He knows at times, we have no idea what we are asking for. The pro life cause is paramount to our times, I am so honored and humbled to have had the experience and opportunity to serve women and the unborn in this capacity! I am also very grateful to God, for allowing me to see for myself, that perhaps such a calling was not His long term plan for me. We go where God seeminly calls us, and for me, that was a return to corporate America. I currently work as a recruiter and sales onboarding specialist where I am helping a Franchising company open and support small businesses that serve seniors and the elderly, giving them opportunities to age in place and live thier final chapters with dignity. It is the other end of the pro life spectrum and such an amazing endeavor!
I love being able to share this great faith of ours and use this platform as a way to express my deep love and devotion to our Lord. We need each other, and this effort has truly become a wonderful way to connect with all of you- my brothers and sisters in Christ!
