My apologies, first of all, for not recording a Christmas homily.  -- As we contemplate Mary's role in the coming of the Savior, and as we consider the Savior's act of sacrificial love, we come to understand how personal the gift of salvation is, and we know that we must respond to this gift in our personal commitments.

Warning: About four and a half minutes into this homily, I have a coughing fit.  Joy is not found in arranging the circumstances of our life according to our taste.  Joy is found when we acknowledge the source of life, God, and as we celebrate the Creator-creature relationship.

The egos of some -- kings, for instance -- can expand to the point that they think they can do favors for God.  We consider today the ways in which God, who is in need of nothing from us, reaches out to us in our helplessness and provides for the birth of the Son of God into our world.