The chosen people's return to the promised land took not one miracle but many miracles perfectly ordered and timed. They needed the desert to be turned into an oasis, their hands and knees strengthened, their hearts freed from fear, their eyes opened, and their ears cleared (Is 35:1-5). They needed to be able to jump like stags and to sing like birds (see Is 35:6).

You also may need an almost incomprehensible array of miracles to return to your first love (Rv 2:4), to the Church, to your spouse and family, to your ministry and work, or to a life of faith, hope, and love. The Lord wants to give you these miracles as your Christmas presents. He will give you the gifts of repentance, forgiveness, conversion, life in the Spirit, healing, deliverance, evangelization, ministry, etc. He wills to do more than you can ever ask for or imagine (Eph 3:20). Jesus promises: "The blind recover their sight, cripples walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, dead men are raised to life, and the poor have the good news preached to them. Blest is the man who finds no stumbling block in Me" (Mt 11:5-6). "Those who stumble and fall are the disbelievers in God's word" (1 Pt 2:8).

Don't believe what you see, how you feel, or what others may say. Believe God's word. Receive the miracles of Christmas.

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, May 28, 2010

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