The Christmas Star

For as long as I can remember, my little hometown has celebrated Christmas by illuminating a huge star perched on the mountain above the downtown streets. The weeks leading up to Christmas are marked with the appearance of that star. Visible for miles, the star glows in the winter sky like a beacon signaling the season. Back in my college days, I’d come home for Christmas anticipating that star and it was always so comforting to see it there. In a way, it really made me feel like I was finally home.

The star at that first Christmas must have been an amazing sight. Maybe there’s a scientific explanation for it. Maybe not. What we know is that it was such a bright star, appearing so suddenly and giving so much light that astronomers in other countries saw it. Some of them even followed the star to Bethlehem where they found a Child. And whether they knew it or not, this Child was the true Light, the Light that calls each of us to come to Him.

Yet our world seems so very dark at times. If Christ truly IS the Light, then why is there war and famine, oppression and injustice? Why haven’t we been able to find and share that peace that Jesus spoke about? The answer lies within each one of us. In our hearts, where sins are born. Original sin has wounded us all and makes us prone to sin. In that sense, sin is our natural state and it’s only through the gift of God’s supernatural grace that we can overcome it. And we all know how often we fail. Or maybe we don’t. Maybe we’re a bit blind and deaf to the darkness we carry around inside us.

Advent is about the light of Christ—the Light that dispels the darkness of sin. The first two weeks of Advent are penitential weeks when the Church encourages us to repent and confess our sins. Most parishes have penance services in early December where the parish gathers together for prayer and Scripture readings before private, Sacramental confession with a priest. Before confession, we prepare ourselves through an examination of our consciences. Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal your sins to you. Catholics often review the Ten Commandments as a guide. Whatever Scripture or spiritual reading you use it’s important to be truly honest and thorough. When you do, you’ll be ready for confession.

And it’s in confession that you’ll have a personal encounter with the light of Christ. When Jesus instituted this Sacrament no one knew better than He did of our need for it. In His human life, Jesus witnessed all of the darkness of this sinful world. He saw injustice and oppression, murder and greed, self-righteousness and pain. He knew just how much we need reconciliation to His own Sacred Heart. When He appeared to his disciples in the Upper Room, they received the gift of the Holy Spirit and Christ spoke to them: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23). That power, received through the Sacrament of Holy Orders to priests and bishops over the centuries, is present in confession today. Christ’s forgiving grace is the Light of that first Christmas star. His grace dispels the darkness of our sins. The light of His mercy and love gives us the strength to follow Him each day. Without His grace, the darkness has won.

Are you ready for the Christmas star? Are you ready for Christ’s light to illuminate the dark corners of your heart? Or do you have sins in need of forgiveness? Every time I see the star on the mountain above our little hometown I think of that first Christmas star. I wonder how it would have felt to see the Child, to be in His presence, to have His eyes look into mine. I want to be ready for that moment. I want my heart to be pure and full of the love and mercy that He offers me, and each of us, in confession. Advent is the time to prepare ourselves for meeting the Lord. The light of Christ is on the way.

Original sin has wounded us all and makes us prone to sin. In that sense, sin is our natural state and it’s only through the gift of God’s supernatural grace that we can overcome it. And we all know how often we fail. Or maybe we don’t. Maybe we’re a bit blind and deaf to the darkness we carry around inside us. --Tiber Judy

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania always had a great star up on the hillside that you could easily see from route 78 northbound.

"Star of the East" is my favorite Christmas song. It was written by Amanda Kennedy and published in 1918, Unlike shallow, insipid songs like "Holly Jolly Christmas" that are blared at shoppers in every supermarket and department store at this time of year, "Star of the East" offers hope in troubled times, as it did in 1918, a time of violence, pestilence and turmoil on a global scale.

4 posted on 12/12/2013 8:29:30 PM PST by mlizzy ("If people spent an hour a week in Eucharistic Adoration, abortion would be ended." --Mother Teresa)

Hmm, I wonder if that’s where Tiber Judy is from. I sure could go for a seeing a great star.

5 posted on 12/12/2013 8:31:04 PM PST by mlizzy ("If people spent an hour a week in Eucharistic Adoration, abortion would be ended." --Mother Teresa)

Dr. Rick Larsen was my daughter's business law professor at Texas A&M University. His presentation of the Bethlehm Star, based upon current knowledge of the universe and computer models, is compelling. It takes you from the time of Jesus' birth through the day of the cross.

Visit the website and you can read about the science and how it fits into scripture. I will never sing the words "Star of wonder, Star of light, Star with royal beauty bright. . . ." without thinking about this presentation which I have seen several times now.

6 posted on 12/13/2013 2:28:27 AM PST by texgal (end no-fault divorce laws return DUE PROCESS & EQUAL PROTECTION to ALL citizens))

OOps = forgot the link to the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bethlehemstar

7 posted on 12/13/2013 2:29:30 AM PST by texgal (end no-fault divorce laws return DUE PROCESS & EQUAL PROTECTION to ALL citizens))

Link directly to the overview of the presentation: http://www.bethlehemstar.net/about/

8 posted on 12/13/2013 2:34:57 AM PST by texgal (end no-fault divorce laws return DUE PROCESS & EQUAL PROTECTION to ALL citizens))

Any Freepers know the nameof the group that Bill O’Reilly mentions that is fighting the ACLU when they go after Christmas and Nativity scenes?? I think they are from ARizone...Scottsdale?

9 posted on 12/13/2013 4:50:15 AM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion......the Human Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)

10 posted on 12/13/2013 6:00:54 AM PST by US Navy Vet (Go Packers! Go Rockies! Go Boston Bruins! See, I'm "Diverse"!)

El Paso has a big star on the mountain.

After my mom died my dad paid for one night of electricity for the light. He got these little gold stars to give to the family representing her time for the light.

Back to the star it was wonderful to see. Faced Mexico where there was no electricity.

11 posted on 12/13/2013 6:02:03 AM PST by The Bat Lady (Can't feed the bears in Yellowstone, they lose the desire to hunt. But welfare is OK.)

12 posted on 12/13/2013 6:08:33 AM PST by mlizzy ("If people spent an hour a week in Eucharistic Adoration, abortion would be ended." --Mother Teresa)

After my mom died my dad paid for one night of electricity for the light. He got these little gold stars to give to the family representing her time for the light.
*sniffs* Tiber Judy's writings always bear such great fruit. Thank you! Thank you!

13 posted on 12/13/2013 6:11:48 AM PST by mlizzy ("If people spent an hour a week in Eucharistic Adoration, abortion would be ended." --Mother Teresa)

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