Come, come Emmanuel. Son of God appear. Heaven and earth rejoice. Salvation is drawing NEAR! Salvation is drawing NEAR! Happy Christmas Eve eve! We are a day away from celebrating the birth of our Savior. Our God desires to draw NEAR to us and as a sign of His unfathomable love, he enters into the fullness of our humanity by being made Incarnate. As we draw NEAR to our family, friends, and loved ones in celebration of Christ’s birth, may we truly express and share the love of Christ who desires to draw ever more NEAR to us His children. Christmas blessings of peace, love, and joy, to all of you and your loved ones! We hope to see you at one of our Christmas Masses this weekend.

Jesus in the Gospel this Friday, calls John the Baptist a BRIGHT lamp that brought true witness to the coming of the Lord. As disciples of the Lord, we are sent out in a dark world to be the BRIGHT lamps, and BRIGHT candles bearing the light of Christ. It is beautiful to see the lights in our Christmas trees and our homes shine BRIGHT. As these lights illuminate the dark, may we also be a BRIGHT light for people who experience darkness in their lives, through our kindness, generosity, and service. May we shine BRIGHT with the love of God as we continue our Advent journey.

God’s love makes all things NEW.  Our God desires to give us a NEW reality.  We await for the coming of God’s Kingdom that will bring about a NEW heaven and a NEW earth.  Let us remain open to God’s grace that makes us a NEW creation in His love.  And may we always hold on to hope that through God’s grace, He can make any situation (however dire) NEW.