"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
This is the message of Christmas that we take to heart each year.
This Christmas is even more special since it comes with our celebration of the Year for Priests that Pope Benedict XVI opened on June 19, 2009, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Mary Vianney, patron of parish priests.
The Holy Father then exhorted all priests: "God's heart calls to our hearts, inviting us to come out of ourselves, to forsake our human certainties, to trust in him and, by following his example, to make ourselves a gift of unbounded love."
He also explained that "(w)hile it is true that Jesus' invitation to 'abide in my love' (cf. Jn 15:9) is addressed to all the baptized, on this feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the day of prayer for the sanctification of priests, this invitation resounds all the more powerfully for us priests. It does so in a special way this evening, at the solemn inauguration of the Year for Priests which I have proclaimed to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of the saintly Curé of Ars."
The Pope also pointed out a quote from the Curé: "the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus" (n. 1589). Thus, he stressed: "How can we fail to be moved when we recall that the gift of our priestly ministry flows directly from this heart? How can we forget that we priests were consecrated to serve, humbly yet authoritatively, the common priesthood of the faithful? Ours is a mission which is indispensable for the Church and for the world, a mission which calls for complete fidelity to Christ and constant union with him. To abide in his love entails constantly striving for holiness, as did Saint John Mary Vianney."
Verily, Christmas is all about love-God's love for us that he gave us Jesus, who in turn loved us to the point of becoming one of us and giving his life for our sake on the Cross, and continuing that mission of love through his chosen priests. Truly, while priests may have so much to do for us each day, the bottom line is still that immeasurable treasure of God's love they bring to us to have, live, and even die for.
And to me personally, I must add that what great blessing indeed that I have two brothers who are priests: Fr. Bob Carpio, the Rector of the Holy Rosary Major Seminary, and Fr. Pablo Carpio, an assistant priest in Buhi.
Yes, let's all make this Christmas a most special one for our priests.
For as St. John Mary Vianney even asserted, "after God, the priest is everything!"
Merry Christmas to all our priests!