To have a true Christmas, to meet Christ at Mass in a new, glorious way during the Christmas season, we must have a “Mary” Christmas and love Jesus as Mary does. To have a “Mary” Christmas, we should:

• not fear (Lk 1:30),
• be filled with God’s grace (Lk 1:30),
• have “the Holy Spirit...come upon” us (Lk 1:35),
• believe that “nothing is impossible with God” (Lk 1:37),
• rejoice in being the Lord’s servants, that is, the slaves of the Lord (Lk 1:38),
• “let it be done” to us according to God’s Word (Lk 1:38),
• trust “that the Lord’s words” to us will “be fulfilled” (Lk 1:45),
• proclaim “the greatness of the Lord” and find “joy in God” our Savior (Lk 1:46-47),
• “be pierced with a sword” of sorrow (Lk 2:35),
• “do whatever [Jesus] tells” us and tell others to do the same (Jn 2:5),
• be at the foot of Jesus’ cross (Jn 19:25), and
• together devote ourselves to constant prayer for a new Pentecost (Acts 1:14).

A “Mary” Christmas is a Christmas of faith, joy, self-sacrifice, obedience, evangelistic zeal, redemptive suffering, praise-filled worship, and constant prayer in the Holy Spirit.

“Mary” Christmas!

Rescript:  "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from December 1, 2023, through January 31, 2024. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio May 17, 2023"

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.