I have a new book "Living Happily Jesus' Hidden Life - The spirituality of Charles de Foucauld in Light of the Beatitudes"

The book is about the extraordinary spiritual journey of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, who found Joy and Happiness in the hidden life of Jesus as a way to holiness.

The book is available from Amazon

JESUS CHRIST IS BORN: GOD IS WITH US

Israel was a people of promise. For many years, the collective imagination of their whole nation was educated, nourished and sustained by a dream, namely to see one day the fulfillment of the promise made by God to their forefathers to give them the Messiah.

Many prophets and righteous people hoped for so long for it, but died without seeing with their own eyes what they were hoping for. Many holy people and fearful of God who observed strictly the Law of Moses died in the same way without seeing the fulfillment of the promise.

But the dream of the nation did not die in the collective memory of the people; neither did it disappear through the meander of their human history. They kept hoping in the promise, that one day God will act and give them a savior.

Though the expectation of the Messiah was so vivid in their collective memory, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, however, only a few people, the shepherds, knew about it.

Today, we all know that it is Christmas; we know that Jesus Christ is born; he is Emmanuel, God-with-us. We know that he took flesh and became a human being like us in order to show us how much God loves us and how much he wants to save us.

In spite of this knowledge, however, we run the risk of being so taken by the mood of the season that comes with commercials, shopping, and gifts, that we forget the reason why Jesus Christ became a man.

Let us give to Christmas its true meaning by celebrating the feast of the incarnation of the son of God among us. Let us join the angels and sing glory to God in the highest: Jesus Christ is born today. Jesus Christ has taken our human flesh so that we share in his divinity. Glory to God for the marvel of his dwelling among us!

Unlike those who hoped for so long without seeing the fulfillment of the promise. Today, we have seen with our own eyes the glory of God shining before us in the Infant Jesus. God-is-with us forever, sharing with us the meander of our human history. Glory to him in the highest!

May our voices resound with praise and thanksgiving to God as they join those of angels and archangels! Christ is born today! God is with us. 

Merry Christmas toyou all!

Rev. Felicien I. Mbala, PhD., STD