We have four more days in the Christmas season. If we have the true Christmas Spirit, Who is the Holy Spirit, we are bringing the Good News of Jesus to the poor (Lk 4:18). That was the original meaning of giving Christmas cards. In the Christmas Spirit, we are proclaiming liberty to captives (Lk 4:18). The Christmas season should not be a time of enslaving, compulsive behavior and indulgence but the beginning of a year of life and freedom in Jesus. “Remember that you have been called to live in freedom — but not a freedom that gives free rein to the flesh” (Gal 5:13).

If Christ is having His way this Christmas, we are opening the eyes of the blind both physically and spiritually (Lk 4:18). We have let the Lord enlighten our innermost vision (Eph 1:18), and we can see more clearly and completely His plan of salvation and our part in it during 2026. If we have the true Christmas Spirit, we are releasing prisoners by calling ourselves and inviting others to repent and break out of the captivity of sin (Lk 4:18). We are calling people to total commitment to Jesus, for if we let Jesus set us free we are free indeed (Jn 8:36).

This freeing of ourselves and others is what it means to celebrate Christmas. A Christmas season in the Holy Spirit is not an escape from reality but the restoration of reality into the image and likeness of the Christ of Christmas.

Rescript:  "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from December 1, 2025, through January 30, 2026. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio May 7, 2025"

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.