The Christmas message I want to share with you comes from the gospel of St. John which tells us “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1. The Eternal Son of God is the Word to us Who self-communicates His love and salvation for us. Until this time as we gather at every Mass, the Word of God continues to come down from heaven to take flesh in the form of the Eucharist. The priest makes the mystery real by making Christ’s sacrifice present, not only sacramentally in the Body of Christ present on the altar, but truly, really, and personally present.
As your humble servant and State Chaplain, I cannot make miracles happen to be able to perform all the duties that I have been expected to do. I am not a miracle-worker, but the accomplishment of task and mission of St. John the Baptist to prepare the way of Christ as the Precursor, was not by way of doing the whole task. However, St. John the Baptist just did his part. Likewise, I know that some of you are losing the hope for getting into the “Star Award Council” or any kind of awards or recognitions. We are doing our part and share to make things happen. Some of us work too hard for our council at the expense of our families, work and even personal priorities; however, we take comfort on the extraordinary presence of God this season of Advent and Christmas which utterly gives us joy and comfort.
We live in a world with lots of expectations and result-oriented from the attitude of “Getting the work done.” This is the path that leads to misery. This Christmas reminds us that God chose to dwell among us, to save us and to recognize our own total dependence on Him and to encounter His eternal love through our “Cor Brotherhood.” Initiating this “Cor Brotherhood” is indeed the answer to our longing to be appreciative of our Fraternal Brotherhood as Knights, to live a life of utter simplicity and set out on the path to holiness together with your whole family and to attain holiness and authentic lasting happiness in all circumstances of our lives, all of which lead us to be in the right relationship with God and our fellowmen.
I believe this boils down to bringing out from within ourselves the interior attitude which is “Gratitude,” In every human fraternal organization, gratitude opens the door for the most cordial and loving relationships.
What can we give this Christmas? We could simply give our “gratitude.” This makes everyone happy and pleases Him which is what makes us happy. As Knights of Columbus, our life is always giving, and now participation in “Cor” is the time for “getting” for ourselves so that we may share His life in heaven. Through our good works and witnessing, we would encourage other men to join the Order. May this Christmas bestow upon you God’s blessings!
Fraternally yours,
Fr. Arlon M. Vergara, OSA
State Chaplain-KofC Nevada
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