Father's Reflection 1.1.23

Merry Christmas everyone!
 
In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of this Christmas Season (down in Kansas City with family and friends) I have found myself coming back to the story of St. Jerome and the Christ child again and again.  It was not a coincidence that I heard that story right before Christmas, at the Quo Vadis Retreat.  For those of you who have yet to hear the story, it goes something like this.  After 40 years of translating Sacred Scripture from the Greek Septuagint, Hebrew and Aramaic, all into Latin (that is right, one man actually translated 3 languages into 1 over the course of 40 years!) St. Jerome was granted a vision by none other than the Christ child.  He had been living and working in a cave in Bethlehem where the Christ was born 3 centuries prior, carrying out the work given to him by the Holy Father, "to translate all of Scripture into one language," when suddenly Our Lord appeared and asked him, "what he was planning to give Him for Christmas."  Can you imagine?  What do you offer the Christ child for Christmas?  As the story goes, St. Jerome fell to his knees to offer praise and adoration to the Christ.  He offered his work on Scripture.  He offered his prayer and fasting.  He offered everything he could think of.  Only for the Christ child to ask him for something else.  "Name it, Lord.  And it is yours."  "Jerome, give me your sins.  Let me be your Savior.  Give me all that is broken, all that causes you shame, all your fear and hurt.  And I will set you free."  As I continue to play and replay that scene out in my imagination, I cannot think of a more beautiful meditation for all of us to be pondering this Christmas and New Years Season.  The Christ was born in Bethlehem to save us.  He wants to shine His Light into the darkness of our lives to set us free.  But will we let him?...