{"id":1393,"date":"2020-12-25T09:37:35","date_gmt":"2020-12-25T13:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/?p=1393"},"modified":"2020-12-25T09:40:58","modified_gmt":"2020-12-25T13:40:58","slug":"on-the-lords-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-reflections\/on-the-lords-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Lord&#8217;s Birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"595\" data-attachment-id=\"1394\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-reflections\/on-the-lords-birthday\/attachment\/dec25\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/dec25.jpg?fit=600%2C595&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"600,595\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;the Net&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1577631855&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"dec25\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/dec25.jpg?fit=600%2C595&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=600%2C595\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/dec25.jpg?w=600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=300%2C298&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>on the Lord\u2019s Birthday<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Great is this day\u2019s solemn feast of the Lord\u2019s birth dearly beloved. But the short day requires me to shorten my sermon. What wonder if we make our word short, when God the Father has made his Word short. \u2018From everlasting to everlasting\u2019 says the prophet, you are God and see he has become an infant a day old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why was it necessary that the Lord of majesty so empty himself, so humble himself, so abbreviate himself. Was it not that you might do likewise ? Already he is crying out by his example what later he will proclaim by his words: \u2018Learn from me for i am meek and humble of heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consequently i beg and earnestly entreat you not to allow so precious a model to be shown you in vain but be conformed to it and renewed in the spirit of your minds. Be zealous for humility which is the foundation and guardian of the virtues. Pursue it for it alone can save your souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What are you afraid of human beings ? He comes not to judge but to save the earth. Do not flee. Do not fear. He is seeking not to punish but to save. He became a little child. The virgin mother wraps his tender limbs in swaddling clothes. Will you realize from this that he has not come to destroy but to save you not bind but to set you free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Great are the works of the Lord says the prophet. ( Ps 111.110:2 ) Great are all his works. Three of his works proclaim his wonderful dealings with us: our primal creation, our present redemption and our future glorification. How each of this proclaims the greatness of your works o Lord!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recognize your dignity O human being, recognize the glory of human constitution ! Along with the world you have a body. But you have something more sublime as well. Bound together and united within you are flesh and soul, one of them formed and the other \u2018breathed in\u2019. From the soul comes beauty, from the soul comes growth, from the soul clarity of vision and the sound of the voice. Divine love is what this union commends to me. Divine love is what i see written on the very page of my creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>From the Sermons of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>on the Lord\u2019s Birthday Great is this day\u2019s solemn feast of the Lord\u2019s birth dearly beloved. But the short day requires me to shorten my sermon. What wonder if we make our word short, when God the Father has made his Word short. \u2018From everlasting to everlasting\u2019 says the prophet, you are God and see [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[44,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-saints-and-blesseds","category-spiritual-reflections"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7bfMR-mt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5719,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/on-the-lords-birthday-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1393,"position":0},"title":"on the Lord\u2019s Birthday","author":"monks4christ","date":"December 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"on the Lord\u2019s Birthday Great is this day\u2019s solemn feast of the Lord\u2019s birth dearly beloved. But the short day requires me to shorten my sermon. What wonder if we make our word short, when God the Father has made his Word short. \u2018From everlasting to everlasting\u2019 says the prophet,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Pope Benedict XVI&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Pope Benedict XVI","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/pope-benedict-xvi\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9018,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/christmas-presents-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1393,"position":1},"title":"on the Lord\u2019s Birthday","author":"monks4christ","date":"December 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"on the Lord\u2019s Birthday Great is this day\u2019s solemn feast of the Lord\u2019s birth dearly beloved. But the short day requires me to shorten my sermon. What wonder if we make our word short, when God the Father has made his Word short. \u2018From everlasting to everlasting\u2019 says the prophet,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Spiritual Practices&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Spiritual Practices","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/spiritual-practices\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-6.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-6.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-6.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7302,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/merry-christmas-god-bless-us-everyone\/","url_meta":{"origin":1393,"position":2},"title":"Tidings of Peace and Joy","author":"monks4christ","date":"December 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"on the Lord\u2019s Birthday Great is this day\u2019s solemn feast of the Lord\u2019s birth dearly beloved. But the short day requires me to shorten my sermon. What wonder if we make our word short, when God the Father has made his Word short. \u2018From everlasting to everlasting\u2019 says the prophet,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Evangelization&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Evangelization","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/new-evangelization\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/dec30aazz.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/dec30aazz.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/dec30aazz.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/dec30aazz.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2853,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/christmas-celebration\/","url_meta":{"origin":1393,"position":3},"title":"Christmas Celebration","author":"monks4christ","date":"December 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"K and C . 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What wonder if we make our word short, when God the Father has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Spiritual Practices&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Spiritual Practices","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/spiritual-practices\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4177,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/mercy\/on-this-night-time-opens-to-eternity\/","url_meta":{"origin":1393,"position":4},"title":"on this Night time opens to Eternity","author":"monks4christ","date":"December 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"on the Lord\u2019s Birthday Great is this day\u2019s solemn feast of the Lord\u2019s birth dearly beloved. But the short day requires me to shorten my sermon. What wonder if we make our word short, when God the Father has made his Word short. \u2018From everlasting to everlasting\u2019 says the prophet,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mercy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mercy","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/mercy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/dec25.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3435,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/the-ascension-of-the-lord\/","url_meta":{"origin":1393,"position":5},"title":"the Ascension of the Lord","author":"monks4christ","date":"May 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"on The Psalms Our thoughts in this present life should turn on the praise of God, because it is in praising God that we shall rejoice for ever in the life to come; and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains himself for it now.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Saints and Blesseds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Saints and Blesseds","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/saints-and-blesseds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/may26.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/may26.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/may26.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/may26.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/may26.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/may26.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1393"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1395,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1393\/revisions\/1395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}