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(Is.7:10-14;\xa0\xa0 Ps.24:1-7,10;\xa0\xa0 Rm.1:1-7;\xa0\xa0 Mt.1:18-24) \xa0 \u201cGod is with us.\u201d \xa0 How shall we \u201cascend the mountain of the Lord\u201d?\xa0 How shall we scale the heights and come to know Him as He is, He who \u201cfounded [the earth] upon the seas and established it upon the rivers\u201d?\xa0 Only by the Son, who \u201cwill save His people from their sins,\u201d are we made ready to stand in His presence.\xa0 \u201cFor it is through the Holy Spirit this child has been conceived,\u201d and we are made holy by the blessing of His presence among our kind. He is one like us.\xa0 Can you believe it?\xa0 Can you understand it, understand its significance and the grace it is as a gift from God?\xa0 Joseph struggled, certainly, to believe, to understand, to accept the greatness of this gift to him and to his people.\xa0 The angel of the Lord had to come to him to convince him to receive such great grace into his life, into his home.\xa0 But he did.\xa0 He did believe, and he did fulfill his role in the coming salvation. And, yes, what of us?\xa0 We \u201care called to belong to Jesus Christ\u2026 called to be holy.\u201d\xa0 Paul answered the call from God to be His apostle and \u201cbring about the obedience of faith\u201d; again, what of us?\xa0 Do we answer the call to holiness?\xa0 Do we reflect that obedience?\xa0 The time is upon us now.\xa0 The great sign has been fulfilled in our midst.\xa0 Jesus has been born and stands with us now to lead us to the purity of the Father \u2013 are we prepared to make this Child our own? What greater truth can be proclaimed than that God is with us?\xa0 What greater grace can we receive than the forgiveness of our sins, than the preparation of our hearts for heaven?\xa0 Jesus accomplishes these blessings now for all who desire to enter the presence of God, for He is the presence of God among us; He Himself is divine grace.\xa0 His mercy is upon us. \u201cGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,\u201d brothers and sisters.\xa0 The power of the Lord be upon your souls.\xa0 May the \u201cSpirit of holiness\u201d establish you with the Son as a child of the Father.\xa0 Be of \u201cthe race that seeks for Him,\u201d and you shall find Him present, dwelling in your homes. \xa0 Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. \xa0 Music: "Vision of Children" (1st part) from The Innocent Heart, first album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. \xa0 ******* O LORD, you call us to be holy; let us indeed be as the Virgin Mother of your Son. YHWH, you are with us now in your only Son, who has been born of the womb of the Blessed Virgin.\xa0 All the earth is yours, and now this Child comes into the world to save it from its sins, from the destruction that is upon it for having turned from you.\xa0 O let us welcome Him into our homes! O LORD, let us belong to Jesus and so become one with you.\xa0 May your grace and peace be upon us this day and all the days of our lives.\xa0 Make us pure as His Mother that your holy mountain we might ascend and gaze upon your face with all your saints.\xa0 Obedient to your call as Joseph let us be; let us listen to the voice of your angel. You desire us all to stand with you, but our hands must be sinless and our hearts clean.\xa0 May the Virgin Mary, she who has conceived and borne your Son, pray the Spirit upon us, that our obedience shall be like her own, and so her blessing also.\xa0 Be with us this day, dear God, and let us be with you.