“He it is who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14—Midnight Mass)

Every Monday evening, during the winter months, our parish community hosts a meal for those who would not otherwise be able to have a meal through a program called the Winter Welcome Table. This is a project that involves probably over a hundred volunteers throughout the course of the year. Many of those who help with the Winter Welcome Table do not even stay around to see those who come for the meal. Some volunteers might simply come in on Monday morning and help set-up. This past Monday, the Winter Welcome Table hosted its annual Christmas dinner. I cannot describe what a beautiful event this was. Our community had been preparing for this event for several weeks. Many in our community donated Christmas gifts to be given to the men and women who come to this meal. Those who donated these gifts often never see the people to whom they are given. Sister Gabriel visited our school and organized for the students to donate presents and to make handmade Christmas placemats for those who attend our dinner. For several weeks before the dinner was served, volunteers arranged for enough turkeys to feed the many who would gather. On the actual night of the Christmas dinner over forty volunteers were involved with cooking the meal, preparing for the event and serving the 140 individuals who came to enjoy this meal. What struck me, and many of the people who attended this meal, about this evening was the joy that was expressed by all who attended. The volunteers were so happy to be hosting this event and were overjoyed to be able to offer something to those who might otherwise not be able to have a Christmas dinner. Each meal that came out of the kitchen was prepared with loving attention, as if for a family member. Those who were attending the meal were truly moved by the fact that people cared enough to offer them a meal and a Christmas present. Many of the regular attendees were and are on a first name basis with the volunteers. For me, the parish’s Winter Welcome Table is a beautiful statement of our parish’s belief that because Jesus has come into the world, we are all of us brothers and sisters in Christ, called to give back to the Lord in service to our brothers and sisters in need, as a way of expressing thanksgiving for God’s boundless generosity in saving us through His Son.

The joy that the world experiences at the birth of Christ rings throughout all of the readings that we hear proclaimed at the Christmas Masses. As the child Jesus is born into the poverty of the manger, the readings from the Mass on Christmas Eve tell of the Angels who announce this good news to the Shepherds who are tending their sheep in the fields. The Shepherds were not the romantic characters that they have come to be in our modern Christmas pageants. They were homeless people living on the margins of society amongst the animals they cared for. Called to visit the same Christ child are the Three Kings, or Wisemen, who represent the Gentile people who will also come to recognize the Savior who is born for all people. The birth of this child brings rich and poor to the manger to fall down in adoration before the Savior of the world. By His coming into the world as our Savior, Christ makes us all His brothers and sisters. In thanksgiving that this Savior has come into the world, Christians recognize the call to respond to all that God has done for us by acts of generosity to others. This is the reason why we give gifts at Christmas time. It is the reason why we are called always to care for the poor and the marginalized in our society through works of kindness and charity. God’s generosity to us, as He sends His Son into the world, is the reason why we are called always to show mercy to those in need. As God has been merciful to us, we are called to be merciful to one another. The charity that we are all called to because of Christ’s birth among us is expressed beautifully in the second reading from Mass on Christmas Eve from the Letter of Titus, which states: “He it is who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14).

The beauty of Christmas is that it focuses our attention on the reality that Christ has come into the world to save all of us. The reality is, however, that Christ who came at Christmas is now with us always through His resurrection and sending of the Holy Spirit among us. The joy that animates the Christmas season is a joy that properly belongs to the Christian each and every single day of the year. This is one of the great lessons that Pope Francis has attempted to bring to the world during his pontificate. One of his first letters as Pope was called The Joy of the Gospel. In it, he wrote of the joy that all Christians ought to have because of the salvation that we have received through Christ. More recently, throughout the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis called all of us to be aware of the tremendous mercy that God has shown us in sending His Son into the world. Because of the mercy we have been shown by God, each of us is called to show mercy to our brothers and sisters. Repeatedly, Pope Francis has emphasized the call that is given to all Christians to extend to others the generosity that God has shown to us by sending His Son into the world. The love which God shows us through the birth of His Son in the manger calls all of us to recognize that as God has come to save us in our poverty, we are called to show our gratitude through our own generosity to others, most especially those in need.

At the end of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis wrote a beautiful letter called Misericordia et misera, which in English is translated Mercy with Misery. The purpose of this letter is to remind all who read it that God’s mercy is always with us as a result of Christ being born into the world. God’s mercy does not end with the close of the Year of Mercy or the conclusion of our celebration of Christmas—His love endures forever. In this letter, Pope Francis calls all of us to the awareness that God’s love for us is celebrated each and every Sunday in the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist. Just as on Christmas morning we celebrate that Christ came among us, so too at every Eucharistic celebration from Sunday to Sunday we are called to receive Him into our lives and be sent out into the world to celebrate His coming among us. The Sunday Eucharist is the weekly celebration of Christ’s coming among us that is given to us to strengthen us to live daily the joy of the Gospel, and share joyfully with others in thanksgiving for all that we have received in Christ. Because Christ has come to bring us His salvation, each day we are called to respond in thanksgiving for His saving action in our lives. The Sunday Eucharist allows us to celebrate His coming to us each week and to rekindle the gratitude that we are called to have because He is always with us. The name of the city where Jesus was born, Bethlehem, actually means “house of bread.” As Christ was born into the poverty of a manger so that all might approach Him, so too he continues to come to us from Sunday to Sunday in a small host of bread, so that we might all receive Him and make Him present to our brothers and sisters. This Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of the child Jesus in a manger, it is important that we also recognize that this same Jesus wishes to come to us from Sunday to Sunday in the Eucharist so that we might live in His loving presence all year long.

The parish’s Winter Welcome Table is a beautiful reminder of what we are called to be as a Christian people as a result of God’s coming among us. How appropriate that after we gather as a community on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist and receive Christ in the sacrament of His Body and Blood, we as a community respond on Mondays to His coming among us by hosting a meal to be shared with those who might not otherwise receive one. At Christmas this meal is celebrated with greater festivity and we make an effort to celebrate by giving out gifts. However, for Christians, the joy of Christmas can never really simply be about one day. Christ is now always with us through the power of His resurrection and coming among us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are called to respond to God’s love and mercy by a life lived in thanksgiving to this love and mercy. The word “Eucharist” itself means “thanksgiving. In the Sunday Eucharist, Christ desires to be born in our hearts each week to rekindle His love within us and to remind us that we are all brothers and sisters as a result of His coming among us. May our celebration of Christmas this year remind all of us that Christ is with us always, inviting us to encounter Him every Sunday in the Eucharist, so that we may always be aware that we are His people called to speak of His love through our actions and kindness to our brothers and sisters in need.

This Christmas, I would like to thank all who volunteer and contribute to make our parish such a vibrant and caring community. I pray that God will bless you and your families during this beautiful Christmas season and throughout 2017.

Merry Christmas!

Fr. Michael McGourty
Pastor—St. Peter’s Parish, Toronto