A Christmas Message and Personal Blessing
Today, we celebrate the great Solemnity of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, God’s Eternal Son, who took upon Himself our flesh from the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that we may be saved and set free from the slavery in which sin binds us, giving us new life as adopted children of our Heavenly Father.
The promised Messiah came into the world so that we may have eternal life with Him, and that we may have it to the fullest! What a most wondrous Gift from our Eternal Father! – a Gift for which each and every one of us should always be most thankful!
And it is with a humbled heart and my sincerest gratitude that I have heard God’s call to reach out to each of you, prayerfully helping you to better understand this wonderful gift of faith which God offers to us and which we have freely chosen to embrace.
With love and charity towards all of God’s children, I take great pleasure in opening my heart and soul to the Spirit’s inspiration and guidance, as I endeavor to make the Scripture Readings each day relevant in this pilgrimage of faith upon which each and every one of us is traveling throughout our lifetime.
And these postings are found on the website www.ev-apostolate.org, and then uploaded onto our three different Facebook pages – Divine Mercy, Jesus, I trust in You and Evangelization Apostolate of God’s Divine Love and Mercy, as well as Gab, Myspace, MeWe, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and the new social media network Parler.
With the help of God’s grace, I have been administering this Apostolate world-wide for over twelve years, and it currently reaches out to His children in more than 180 countries, and I will continue to do so for as long as God needs me to evangelize His Truth.
It has been my desire from the very beginning to help each of us grow in our personal relationship with God – a relationship born of faith, a relationship continuously nurtured and cultivated through our love for the God who loves each of us beyond all measure of human understanding.
For we have a God who truly understands our human condition; we have a God who has traveled this road Himself, for He is not unfamiliar with both the wonderful peaks along with the heartrending valleys which our journey through life oftentimes leads us.
The Divine Word, the Only-Begotten Son of the Eternal Father, knew from all eternity that His Holy Birth amongst us meant that He would one day have to embrace His Cross, a Cross which would reconcile us with His Father forever, a Cross which, with the help of His grace, would guide us into becoming co-heirs with our Savior, enjoying with Him the fullness of everlasting life.
And, in so doing, in fulfilling all that was prophesied of His Birth and His Death, He would teach you and me the great value which our own individual crosses hold for each one of us in our life’s journey here on this side of Heaven.
Christmas is that most wondrous time of year when we are able to look into the eyes of God – where we see our Most Loving, Heavenly and Eternal Father who is both our Creator and our “Daddy God”, a Father who loves each of us with an unfathomable Love, a Father who sent us His Son to teach us that this Eternal One, the Creator of “Heaven and Earth, of all things visible and invisible” – Jesus’ Father whom He calls “Abba” – is also our Father.
We are able to look into the eyes of God and see the Father’s Son, Jesus, who is our Lord and our Savior, who is our dearest and most intimate Friend and Brother, who taught us the great value which God places on the virtues of meekness and humility, who redeemed us by His Death through the self-sacrificing nature of His selfless Love – so that you and I may have life eternal.
And we are able to look into the eyes of God and see His Holy Spirit – the Spirit who enlightens us to His Truth, the Spirit who sanctifies us on our pilgrimage through life, the Spirit who teaches and guides us in truly living the virtue of selfless love, the Spirit who strengthens us in living our life of faith in a world and a culture which oftentimes seems so foreign to the idea of virtue and faith.
This Most Holy, Eternal and Blessed Trinity, three distinct and separate Divine Persons in One God, will always remain a mystery to us on this side of Heaven, but He is a God with whom we can develop a loving relationship – one of holiness and intimacy – a relationship which will guide each of us in our journey to personal sanctification.
As Christmas Day dawns upon each of us throughout the world, may the Holy Christ Child who was born to give us hope, who was born to teach us about the true nature of God’s Love, and who was born to redeem us of our sins, bless each of us and all those whom we hold so dear to our hearts. With heartfelt wishes, may you have a very blessed, joyous and holy Christmas!
Peace, love and God’s blessings always to each and every one of you, †
Ed Cole
Evangelization Apostolate of God's Divine Love and Mercy 