• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe

God, born in us

February 6, 2020
By Father Joseph Breighner
Filed Under: Commentary, Wit & Wisdom

To paraphrase the great theologian, Meister Eckhart, of the 1400s: “What difference would it make to me that Christ was born 1,400 years ago, if I did not also believe that Christ is born in me today?”

We spend a lot of time reflecting on the earthly birth of Christ. We have the four weeks of Advent to prepare for the feast of Christmas. We have the actual day of Christmas. And the church celebrates the weeks of the Christmas season after the actual day.

But January and February have fewer celebrations. Yes, there is Valentine’s Day. (And God have mercy on the soul of any man who forgets to buy a card or gift for his wife or girlfriend.)

But could we use this time, not just to reflect on romantic love, but also to reflect on divine love? Just as we long to love and to be loved, can we also imagine God longing to love us and be loved by us?

We believe that in the fullness of time God wanted to enter history and be born physically. Can we allow ourselves to believe that God wants to enter each one of us and be born in us?

Salvation history is not just about what God did in the past, but what God wants to do through each one of us in the present. If we believed God lived in us and in each person we meet, there would be no more murders in Baltimore City, or anywhere else. We would not need weapons of mass destruction. We would not need to spend billions on arms while millions starve.

I’m not being naive. I understand the need for police and military. Thank God for them. Original sin manifests in actual sins every day. I’m glad we have people to protect us from our worst impulses. But if I really believed God lived in me, how would I treat myself and others? If the world believed God lives in everyone, how would we treat everyone?

Someone has wisely observed: “Christianity hasn’t failed. It’s just never been tried.” True, numerous saints have been canonized. Countless holy people live lives of extraordinary goodness. God wants to take on our flesh and blood and be born in all of us.

What if we let that happen?

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Father Joseph Breighner

Father Joseph Breighner is a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and a columnist for the Catholic Review.

View all posts from this author

| Recent Commentary |

Question Corner: Jesus became man so I could become God?

The mental health crisis crosses all boundaries and ages

Hold the tuna casserole; pass the crab cake this Lent

Question Corner: Do we relax our Lenten fasts on Sunday?

Pope Francis: 10 titles for 10 years

| Recent Local News |

Sister Joan Cooper, O.S.F., dies at 94

Pathfinders: Five Archdiocese of Baltimore women who made history

Sister Elizabeth Ellen Kane, O.S.F., dies at 81

RADIO INTERVIEW: Dining with the Saints

Archdiocese dispenses with meatless obligation for St. Patrick’s Day

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Confession, indulgences express and strengthen communion, speakers say
  • Pro-life groups seek commitments on federal abortion limits from 2024 GOP contenders
  • Pope: Without power of Holy Spirit, evangelization is empty advertising
  • West Virginia parishes, people help Ukrainians find safe haven in Mountain State
  • Rosary project supplies ‘long-range, heart-changing weapons’ to Ukraine
  • Bishop calls ‘reproductive justice’ lecture series with abortion doula ‘scandal,’ ‘unworthy’ of Notre Dame university
  • Movie Review: ‘In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis’
  • Church calls for ‘international protection of holy sites’ after attack on church at Tomb of the Virgin Mary in Jerusalem
  • Sister Joan Cooper, O.S.F., dies at 94

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED