"The great soul, the Messenger, came at a period of history of his race which we may well designate as a great fall. We catch only little glimpses here and there of the stray records that have been kept of his sayings and doings; for verily it has been well said that the doings and sayings of this great soul would fill the world if they had all been written down. And the three years of his ministry were like one compressed, concentrated age, which it has taken nineteen hundred years to unfold, and who knows how much longer it will yet take! Little men like you and me are simply the recipients of just a little energy. A few minutes, a few hours, a few years at best; are enough to spend it all, to stretch it out, as it were, to its fullest strength, and then we are gone for ever. But mark this giant came; centuries and ages pass, yet the energy he left upon the world is not yet stretched, not yet expanded to its full. It goes on adding new vigor as the ages roll on."
Swami Vivekananda
From “Christ, The Messsanger”
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At this Holy Time:
May Holy Mother Mary nourish you.
May Saint Joseph protect you.
And may the Divine Baby Jesus play happily in your hearts.
Today is a special day that we celebrate the birth of Christ. Unfortunately with the commercialization of this day we forget the fundamental message of Christ. I always remember the ceremony in the Bombay, India. There would be a picture of Christ while the monk would do “arti” to it. The peace and spirituality of that ceremony still remains with me. For the Ramakrishna movement, Christmas eve was special since on this day, the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna gathered around a sacred fire in Antpur, Bengal the birth place of Swami Premananda and the seed of the monastic order blossomed on that night.
Greetings to everyone here in the courtyard on this auspicious occasion. May Mother bless each one of us today and always.
