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As we approach the solemnity of Christmas tomorrow, we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit to help us enter into the mystery we are celebrating. Implicit in the glory of the birth of Christ, is His death. It is already present, as it has been since His conception in the womb of Mary, in His flesh.

A season of joy, to be sure. A season of wonder, most definitely. A season of magnanimity, most assuredly. For this is the season that proves God's love for us. His Son has been sent for one mission, and one mission only, to pour Himself out for us. 

The Incarnation is the Redemption begun. It is consummated at the conception and culminated at the crucifixion. As we gaze upon the Christ Child lying in the creche, how can we ignore that He is already on the bed of wood?

It is this we celebrate: that in the midst of our depravity, God sent His Son in the fullness of time, born of a woman (Gen. 3:15; Gal. 4:4). It is in this that we find cause for rejoicing.

Carol Houselander, an English author of the last century, asks us to focus our attention on this reality during the Advent season. It is not too late to ponder the cause of our joy in these last hours before Christmas day.

Writing in Reed of God, Houselander offers us these words for meditation and contemplation. She invites us to consider the role of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, as we consider the coming of the Christ Child:

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A new Rasmussen Reports poll has found that Americans believe Christmas should be more about Jesus and less about Santa Claus.

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"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given."  -Isaiah 9:6

My Dear Friends in Christ,

As we enter the final days of Advent and begin our journey into the season of Christmas, we joyfully anticipate the great gift of the Christ Child and all that His birth has meant to humanity.  Our hearts are filled with gratitude for this unfathomable gift. 

We are also filled with gratitude for all that you have done to support the mission of Women of Grace and all of our outreaches.  We wish all of our benefactors, customers and friends the peace, joy and love of Jesus Christ and pray that the He will fill your hearts with His Love and Peace!  May the coming New Year bring you "every spiritual blessing in the heaven!" (Ephesians 1:3)

All of the staff of Living His Life Abundantly® and Women of Grace® offer our prayers for you and your intentions during this Christmas season.  We ask you to please remember us and the efforts of our apostolate during your times of prayer!  I would also ask you to prayerfully consider making a sacrificial year-end donation to assist us in our mission of evangelization for the coming year. 

May you and your families have an even greater experience of the presence of the Child Jesus and His Holy Mother, Mary in the deepest recesses of your soul this Christmas and always!

God bless you!

With gratitude,

Johnnette S. Benkovic and Staff

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist In a break with tradition, the Pope has decided to celebrate Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve at 10:00 p.m. rather than at midnight.

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist A leading employer’s group in the UK says shutting the office down for the Christmas holiday may be seen as discriminatory by non-Christians, so employers should say they’re shutting down to cut costs because so many employees take off. But those companies that can’t shut for the holiday shouldn’t worry because Christians deserve no special privileges.

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist The nation’s largest family organization is calling for a nationwide boycott of Gap, Inc. because of its policy to ban the word “Christmas” from its stores this season.

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer In the midst of too many politically correct “Happy Holidays” incidents, the story of an eleven year-old Mississippi boy whose school backed down after penalizing him for mentioning Jesus’ name in a Christmas poem, is a welcome change.

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer  Americans are expressing outrage at a display erected by atheists mocking religion that is being allowed to stand next to a nativity scene in Washington’s state capital. But abuses of one of Christianity’s most beloved holidays are taking place across the nation, all in the name of “tolerance.”

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer The annual anti-Christmas campaigns are underway. In preparation for the 2008 Christmas season, the American Humanist Association (AHA) is plastering advertisements questioning the existence of God all over metro buses Washington, DC.

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By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer The city of Green Bay, Wisconsin successfully fought off a lawsuit brought by a radical atheist organization over a Nativity scene that it traditionally displays at City Hall every year.

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