give the children to jesus
"Now I, in turn, give him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord." —1 Samuel 1:28
The meaning of Christmas is: "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" (Jn 3:16). Christmas is God's gift of a Child. To be in the Christmas Spirit, we should be like Hannah and give our children to the Lord (1 Sm 1:28). This is done by:
- married couples lovingly having all the children the Lord wants to give them,
- parents offering their children to the Lord as priests, deacons, and religious,
- parents being the major vocation directors for their children by teaching them the beauty, fruitfulness, and mystery of all vocations,
- godparents prayerfully discerning their godchildren's place in the body of Christ,
- all Christians praying that the Harvest-Master send workers into His harvest (Mt 9:37-38), and
- all Christians leading young people to Christ and to their vocations.
In some way, present a child to the Lord this Christmas and help change our culture of death into a civilization of love and life. The Lord promised that a little child would guide us (Is 11:6). We begin to give our world to the Lord by giving our children to Him. This is the meaning of Christmas.
Prayer: Father, all that I have is Yours. All my children are Yours. My life is Yours.
Promise: "My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my Savior." —Lk 1:46
Praise: "O King of all the nations, the only Joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature You fashioned from the dust."
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, March 3, 2017
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