Bishop: The Son of God came into the world to save souls, set an example
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All who profess Christ as Lord and Savior started out by watching and learning from people they trust and admire.
“Somehow, all of you learned from someone what it means to be Christian,” Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell reminded a capacity congregation in the Cathedral of St. Joseph on Christmas Eve.
“You learned from someone’s goodness, patience, kindness, gentleness, compassion, mercy and care what it means to follow the Lord,” he said. “Let us pray in this Holy Eucahrist that we will have the grace to be that same kind of witness to others.”
It was Bishop O’Donnell’s first time celebrating Christmas Mass since becoming leader of the Jefferson City diocese.
His mother, Janie O’Donnell of Omaha, Nebraska, was present in the congregation.
The Cathedral Parish’s children’s choir led the singing of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” as second-graders from St. Joseph Cathedral School, who are preparing for their First Holy Communion, joined the bishop in processing to the outsized Nativity scene in the sanctuary.
The children placed the image of the infant Jesus in the manger.
“Lord,” the bishop prayed, “bless all who look upon this manger. May it remain for us a sign of the humble birth of Jesus and raise up our thoughts to him, who is God with us and Savior for all.”
The bishop began his homily with a short poem, author unknown, that his uncle, the late Monsignor Edward O’Donnell of Omaha, had learned in 1921 and taught to him in 1974.
“I prayed to Jesus, O, so hard, to bring me Christmas morn’,
“A little baby brother like himself when he was born.
“Christmas came and Jesus said: ‘I could not find another,
“‘So I myself shall come to you, To be your brother.’”
“What we celebrate tonight,” Bishop O’Donnell declared, “is the fact that the eternal God sent forth Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word made Flesh, the Incarnation, born like us in all things but sin.”
Just as Moses had followed God’s command to raise his arms to bring victory in battle to his people, the Son of God fulfilled the prophets and the law by coming into the world and raising his arms on the cross.
“The wood of the crib is the wood of the cross,” Bishop O’Donnell observed.
Christ took on human flesh in order both to show people how to live and to win salvation for humanity, through the eternal love of the Son for the Father.
That was the basis of a two-part assignment Bishop O’Donnell gave to the people.
The first part was to find someone to share the love of Christ with — “someone in need of reconciliation, of peace, or even in need of a meal.”
The second part was to “find someone — maybe someone tonight at your dinner table or maybe tomorrow as you’re going house to house — to thank for bringing Christ into your life by what they have said and what they have done, to the glory of God the Father,” he directed.
“May the light of Christ, who is our peace and salvation, be with you always!” he said.
