Hello, welcome to Form Now. My name is Dr. Ben Acres. I'm the executive director of Formed.

And joining me today is Dr. Michael Barber, a professor at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology, and also author of the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, and the origins of the season.

We're in the third part of a Bible study on the joyful mysteries. So we're going through the different mysteries of the rosaries, and we've been diving deeply into the scenes in Scripture that we find in the New Testament, but also looking at some of the Old Testament echoes. And today we're on the birth of Christ. Thanks for joining me, Michael. It's great to be with you. Yeah, I'm excited because you wrote a whole book on this. I always enjoy talking to you. This is a couple of times that we've actually had a... I know. Somehow you're always absent when I'm supposed to be informed. I know. I think you're avoiding me. I'm not avoiding you. I'm here today. I am here today to talk about Christmas. And so this is just a beloved mystery of our faith.

It is.

Right. today. I'm here today to talk about Christmas. And so this is just a beloved mystery of our faith.

It is. Right. The, the nativity of our Lord. Where should we start?

Actually, I believe it was St. John Christosom who called it the Chief and Mother of all holy days.

Christmas.

Mm, the Chief and Mother. Okay. How about that? I know that people, even in secular society, love to celebrate Christmas. Okay. How about that? I know that people even in secular society love to celebrate Christmas.

Yep.

But how much more should we celebrate this great high feast?

Right.

I think a lot of people have a longing for the things that Christmas is associated with, things

like homecoming, right?

Nobody ever talks about Labor Day magic.

Have you noticed that?

There are no songs devoted to Memorial Day, but Christmas music is its own genre.

And the best Christmas songs, and there are some silly ones, but the best Christmas songs

are the ones

that tap into our deepest yearnings, you know, and so many of them talk about wanting to be home

for Christmas, or I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know. So many people

get sentimental around Christmas time, and I think what we've often done is

...