Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas to each of you and to your families!  During this time of greatest joy, the Fellows and I would like to offer to you the following greetings, wishes and Christmas reflections.  In this way, we hope to share with you just a bit of the grace found in this greatest gift...

  Jennifer, Pat and Dr. May, Maggie, Christian

"Here on the eve of our Savior's birth, let us reflect on all of creation's greatest gift, the gift of God Incarnate.  May each and every one of us celebrate this Christmas with deep and intimate reflections on this reality: that God became man for us.   We are offered and indeed called in such a special way to know him, to walk with him, to follow him in love and all virtue, to unite our humanity to his and to share in His redemptive power; a power and grace that seeks the fullness of life for every person, born and unborn.  What a humbling and truly unfathomable gift!  Merry Christmas to you and your Families."

Jennifer Kimball, Director 

"Christmas is a joyous, joyful feast because it celebrates the birth of Jesus, God’s only-begotten Son. The babe in the manger is in truth both God and  man; he fully shares our human nature so that we can share his divine nature and be truly children of God, members of the divine family. The little babe in the crib became man, one of us, to free us from sin. Sin is a great evil, but Jesus teaches us that the way to overcome evil is not to curse it or seek to crush it like a bug but rather to suffer it, and suffer it he did when he was scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified. He came to lay down his life for us; he is indeed our best and wisest friend.
 
During the Christmas season we remember how the Magi from the east came to worship the baby Jesus and offer him precious gifts. We too must bring him gifts, and the gift that will be most pleasing to him is the gift of our own lives, of our self-giving love, a love like his own, a healing, redemptive kind of love that embraces all men, even those who hate us. Our vocation is to love and in this way share in the babe of Bethlehem’s redemptive work."

William E. May, Ph.D., Senior Fellow

"On Christmas we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, Our Lord Jesus Christ.  As we reflect on this blessed occurrence, we conjure up beautiful images of Our Lady, Joseph and Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem, star overhead, and angels singing to welcome the Lord to our dusty earth.  The image of the Holy Family serves as an example of how we should fashion our own family life and fulfill our roles as mothers and fathers – the gentle wisdom and trust in God exemplified in Mary; the protection and service provided by Saint Joseph; and the sacrifices, dangers and hardships willingly undertaken by both Mary and Joseph for the sake of Jesus.  Amidst the great joy of Christ’s birth, the struggle to find shelter and the danger of Herod were also present.  This reminds us that the joys of family life are also accompanied by suffering, which can be endured and sanctified through faith. 

"May your Christmas be filled with the light and joy of Christ.  Merry Christmas to you and your families!"

Maggie Datiles, Associate Fellow

"Dear Friends,  We all have special intentions as we enter this Christmas Season.  Please join me in praying for a little girl named Gabriella Joy, eight months gestational age, about to be born to a wonderful Christian couple in New Jersey, dear friends from my college years at Rutgers.  Gabriella has been diagnosed with complete Trisomy 18, a genetic anomaly in which she has a third copy of genetic material at chromosome 18, instead of the usual two.  The condition is lethal, though predicting how long she may live after birth is difficult.  Without divine intervention, she could live anywhere from 72 hours to several months.  Please pray for her delivery, her fragile health, for the physicians who care for her, and in a special way for her mother and father that Christ gives them the wisdom they need to make the right decisions.  Please pray also that our cynical age would find in the Christmas message this year the inspiration it needs to widen its welcome of dear little ones like Gabriella Joy, in whose birth we are invited to welcome Christ himself.

To all our readers and benefactors, I wish you Christmas peace and joy."

E. Christian Brugger, Senior Fellow in Ethics