A public square rosary is a good reminder as to what Christmas is really all about

    A week from Saturday, December 12th will be the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas.

    A number of rally captains intend to hold public square rosaries on that date. 

    As the throngs of people are out and about buying and selling, a public square rosary is a good reminder as to what Christmas is really all about.  In our society that has become so secularized, the true meaning of Christmas can be lost. 

    The true joy of Christmas is the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Our Lord became flesh so that He would, at the age of 33, offer Himself as the perfect victim on the cross at Calvary. Without Christmas there would be no Calvary, without Calvary there would be no Resurrection and the gates of heaven would remain closed. 

    Christmas made it possible for all of us to enter the gates of heaven, provided that we die in a state of sanctifying grace.

    Besides the Incarnation, there is the special role of Our Lady in our redemption.  Had Our Lady not said, "fiat" with all of the sufferings that entailed, there would not have been an Incarnation.

    The joy of the Incarnation, the special joy of the maternity of Our Lady, who also became our Mother, these are the true joys of Christmas. 

    This is why cloistered monks and nuns celebrate Christmas with great joy.  They do not have the joy of material pleasures, instead they have the spiritual joys of these great and mysterious doctrines of our Faith to reflect upon.

    Those who live in the world also celebrate Christmas with material gifts.  With the proper spirit, these gifts represent the gifts of Our Lord to us.  At His Nativity, Our Lord showered us with His eternal gifts, so the gifts that we offer to others, should symbolize that tremendous generosity of Our Savior. 

    But even for those of us in the world, the primary cause of our happiness should be the exact same as that of the monks and sisters.

    It is even good to reflect during Advent and  Christmas time that we should be just as happy, perhaps even happier, if our conditions were not so pleasant as they are in a land of plenty. Instead of being surrounded by gifts and loving family members, we could suffer unjust imprisonment, terrible poverty, or grave health.  We could be alone shivering in a fox hole somewhere across the globe.  None of those factors should change the reason for our great joy; the birth of the Savior and the adoption of us by His Mother.

    Please consider holding a public square rosary on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Use your public square rosary to remind the masses of the miracle of the Incarnation and the tender maternity of Our Lady.  Her tenderness extends to us, even in sin, trying to draw us to Her Son with repentance.