Gloria in excelsis Deo

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace 

to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14). 

Those are words that each of us has heard thousands of times, simply by going to Sunday Mass.

It’s good from time to time to step back and call to mind that those are not empty words.  They were really spoken at a specific time and specific place in proclamation to the reality of God becoming man.

Today, we had the opportunity to go to that specific place; “Shepherds’ Field,” the spot where an angel proclaimed those words to shepherds tending their flocks more than 2,000 years ago.  It’s a beautiful and peaceful spot and was a great place to take some time and pray, which we were able to do. The greatness of the opportunity, however, was not to just go and see “Shepherds’ Field,” it was even better than that.  We had the opportunity to have Mass at those fields, to hear the words ‘Glory to God in the Highest’ in the same spot that God’s messenger proclaimed to very simple men that God dwelt amongst them and was pleased with them.
 
That same thing happened today; the Word became flesh and dwelt among us in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and does so every time we go to Mass in the Eucharist. The grace of today was a deepening of the reality that those shepherds were real men, those flocks were real flocks, that spot where the angel appeared to them was a real spot, and that God desired to be among real people in real circumstances; that God knows today we are real men with real flaws and yet still is calling each of us to be His priest and take Him to His people; that He still desires to be among real people in real circumstances today.  The same message that was good news then is still good news today; God is with us, not in the abstract, but in the flesh.  “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace among men with whom He is pleased!”