The greatest gift of them all is LOVE. It can take many shapes and forms, but as Christ said, there is no greater gift or expression of our love than giving one’s life for another.

This reality is what makes life so fulfilling. We see and experience with our senses the LOVE of God in His creation, in the beauty of nature, in art and in music. We also experience it in our souls when we find truth, peace and goodness, and in relationship with others. In other words, we find GOD in all because He is LOVE and He created all.

God’s loving plan for us is very specific, and He invites us to be participants in that plan as a family. Pope Francis, in his address to families in Philadelphia made a statement that stuck with me. He said, “God made this marvel in which we live and since we’re a little mixed up, we are destroying it. But the most beautiful thing that God made, the Bible says, was the family. He created man and woman, and He gave them everything. He gave them the world! Grow, multiply, cultivate the earth, make it produce, make it grow. He presented to a family all of the love that He made in this marvelous creation.” Then he said, “All of the love, beauty and truth that God has in Himself, He gives to the family. And a family is truly a family when it is able to open its arms and receive all of this love. When God the Father gave His only Son to us and sent us the Holy Spirit, again He was donating Himself completely to us, His family.

On December 25^th we celebrate the birth of Jesus, a gift from the Father who in His infinite wisdom, chose a humble Virgin mother and a faithful husband – the Holy Family – to receive His only Son into the world. The creator of all, the ruler of the universe, the almighty gave us His Son so that we could enjoy eternity with Him. What a gift! What Love!