Christmas is about rebirth. Creation has stood still, throughout the centuries, on Christmas night. Even raging battles between nations would stop, and soldiers would pause and recollect while the guns fell silent on that Holy Night that comes once a year. German painting 1457 A.D. Image via Wikipedia It was December of 1914 and what became known as the Great War had started four months earlier. Millions of men from all over Europe had responded wholeheartedly to the call to arms. No one believed the war would go much longer than a couple of months. Surely, they thought, it would be over before Christmas. But at the approach of winter, thousands of soldiers had already been killed on the battlefield and the hope of “peace on earth” for Christmas died with them. The Allied Troops (Belgium, France, and Britain) were locked in a standoff with the Germans. Soldiers on both sides lined up in deep, narrow trenches. In between the two armies was a short lonely stretch of ground aptly named No Man’s Land only as wide as two football fields, but in some places only 30 yards separated the enemy soldiers from each other. They were so near in some places that they could hear each other’s conversations, an eerie and frightening reality. The shooting and killing, therefore, was often fierce. Christmas Eve was bitterly cold. Though families had sent packages to their soldiers to bring them a little Christmas cheer, there was little peace or comfort on the front lines of the war on this Christmas night. Suddenly a strange sound was heard. Ears strained to comprehend what it was. The sweetness was shocking. It was singing in German. The words were unfamiliar but the tune was universally known. “Stille Nacht” – “Silent Night”. And then a remarkable, miraculous thing happened. Others joined in from the other side of the short battlefield and a chorus of voices were heard from both sides of the line. Then more and more began to sing. “Silent Night” led into “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”. Then both sides stood up and cautiously stared at each other. And somehow, in the middle of No Man’s Land where dead bodies lay everywhere, a miraculous peace broke out. The enemy soldiers came together and for a brief moment became brothers. Christmas packages were opened and shared with each other. A Christmas tree was lit with candles and a soccer ball came out of the trenches and a lively game ensued. All along the front line of battle, truces were made and as many as 100,000 soldiers are said to have participated. The following are some recorded eyewitness accounts from diaries and letters: Albert Moren, a seventeen-year-old British private, wrote: “It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere; and…there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and then there were those lights – I don’t know what they were. And then they sang “Silent Night” – “Stille Nacht.” Corporal John Ferguson, a Scotsman, wrote: “…What a sight – little groups of Germans and British extending almost the length of our front!…Where they couldn’t talk the language they were making themselves understood by signs, and everyone seemed to be getting on nicely. Here we were laughing and chatting to men whom only a few hours ago we were trying to kill!” Kurt Zehmisch, a German soldier, wrote in his diary: “The English brought a soccer ball from the trenches, and pretty soon a lively game ensued. How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.” After the miraculous Silent Night, the generals ordered the fighting to resume – which it did. Soldiers who fraternized with each other were now having to kill each other again. This incredible true story is from the book Silent Night, by Stanley Weintraub and shows the power of who laid in the crib. Our Lady desires this peace to break out all over the earth. Christmas is a time for man to take his eyes off the destruction and crosses and look with joy and love upon the Infant in the manger. It is a time of love. Babies are easy to love, and each year, since 1981, Our Lady of Medjugorje has come on December 25, with Her baby Son, Jesus, in Her arms, physically present in the Flesh, no different than when He was here 2,000 years ago. We, of the present generation, have had what centuries passed have not; the little Infant Jesus, for the past 28 years, every Christmas appears upon the earth. Nothing is more endearing than meditating upon the Nativity scene. The Medjugorje visionary, Marija’s heart was pierced through with joy one Christmas early in the apparitions, when little Jesus turned His head, looked at the six visionaries, and winked. Knowing an infant does not have the capability of doing that, it wounded her heart as She realized the Baby was truly Jesus, God Himself. The one thing needed at Christmas time, more than anything else, is love. While the world goes towards materialism seeking to fill their emptiness, there is the need to bring love, be love, and spread love. There are people in the world who wish evil for you, who wish you to be hurt, and even while doing evil, deceive themselves that they are doing good, be they a family member, neighbor or enemy. Yet, we are called to love. July 31, 1986 We should approach the birth of Jesus and celebrate this Christmas with hope and prayers for renewal of all creation. And from the Bedroom where Our Lady appeared in Alabama, Our Lady said: December 25, 1988 A later Silent Night in the loft of the house, the Virgin Mary appeared, holding the same Infant She held 2000 years ago in the stable of Bethlehem, only this time i t was Birmingham. We pray for you, and we encourage you to bow before the humble manger and contemplate the Wonder of Creation. Go out and look at the stars and, in wonderment, think about what generations before us could only dream of. That reality of the Queen of Heaven being with us for over 26 years, and this Christmas again, She will bring the Center of Creation to the earth to bless it. May peace come to you as you ponder this grace. Prepare for it on your knees at 10:40 a.m. CST, December 25th, when the Infant Jesus, while in His Mother’s arms, in the flesh at that moment this Christmas, will raise His hand to bless all upon the earth. May all creation be blessed and renewed. This Christmas, remember us as we remember you, and that all that Our Lady wants birthed for the New Year may be realized. Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas! In the love of the little Jesus, A Friend of Medjugorje On Behalf of Caritas of Birmimgham Copyright SJP Lic. Caritas of Birmingham. Used with permission. 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