Although the Christmas season has ended, I still find myself humming those magnificent yuletide carols. Those delightful, well-known melodies have a way of springing to mind throughout the year.
Perhaps it is significant that the stirring music of Christmas stays with us. After all, the essence of Christmas perdures. What we specifically commemorate every December 25th and for several weeks thereafter — the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity — is so fundamental that it always undergirds who we are as disciples of the risen Lord Jesus. Without His saving birth more than 2,000 years ago, we would not have been redeemed on Calvary by the loving Savior Who selflessly shed His Precious Blood for us.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church presents a brief and valuable summary of the concept of the Incarnation. “The unique and altogether singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that He is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man. During the first centuries, the Church had to defend and clarify this truth of faith against the heresies that falsified it.” (CCC 464)
The sacred mystery of the Incarnation recalled particularly at Christmas — the Eternal Word of God Who took our flesh — is always in vogue; it is never irrelevant. The human mind cannot fully grasp the wonder of how God became man — for us. But even though we do not comprehend completely, we can appreciate what the Lord did for His needy sons and daughters. And not only are we grateful for the unparalleled kindness of Jesus, but our thirsty souls also are moved to make some recompense for this astounding gift of Himself.
What is our offering to Christ in sincere thanks for His long-awaited coming? Simply put, renewed hearts. Steeped in God’s abundant grace, we promptly accept His gracious invitation to be converted and to live as His forgiven, loyal friends. 
This is what God desires from and for us: that we turn to Him, acknowledge our sinfulness, place our confidence in His mercy and imitate the charity and service that marked the life of the Messiah. Then, the lasting fruits of the Incarnation of the Son of God will be more obvious for all to see in us, inspiring others to renounce sin and “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14).
God did not intend for the Christmas event to be politely nodded at once a year and then summarily dismissed for the next eleven months. Rather, He expects that the Incarnation and its enduring implications will find a home in us. We are to recognize ever more what Jesus did for us and what He now wants us to do for Him: “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
The birth of Mary’s Son brought immense joy to the world. May the world see our joy in Christ and inherit the indescribable grace and peace that we experience.
“The first Noel, the angels did say . . .”
© Copyright 2004 Catholic Exchange
Monsignor Charles M. Mangan was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Sioux Falls in 1989. He is presently assigned to the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
