Advent with St. John Henry Newman
Reflections by Fr. Jason Smith, LC
The earliest heresies did not stumble over Christ’s divinity so much as his humanity. How could this baby be truly God? And yet this is the burning core of our faith: the Son of God became a baby, a child, a teenager, a man. As Pope Benedict XVI put it, there is now “a place in the inner life of the Blessed Trinity for human nature.” Christmas is not only the celebration of Christ’s birth but the elevation of our own dignity.
St. John Henry Newman writes: “We are no longer… in the region of shadows: we have the true Saviour set before us… ‘The darkness is past, and the True Light now shineth.’ And therefore… He calls upon us to ‘walk in the light as He is in the light.’ … ‘Our eyes shall see the King in His beauty; we shall behold the land that is very far off.’”
Call things by their true name, Newman says. Tonight we name this child as he truly is: Son of God, Son of Mary—our Brother. In him, human nature isn’t merely repaired; it’s raised. Because Christ has taken our flesh, no human face is ordinary again.
Let us pray to the Son of God, our Brother: “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Reflect: What part of your humanity do you find hardest to accept—your limits, your longings, your vulnerability? How can Christ’s birth invite you to see these as the very places God chooses to dwell?
In this Advent series, Fr. Jason Smith draws from his personal experiences and St. John Henry Newman’s own Advent sermons, connecting themes like reverence, awe, and intimately encountering Christ in the simplicity and stillness of ordinary life. Pray with us on The Regnum Christi App, sign up to have each day’s reflection delivered to your inbox every morning, or follow the RC Spirituality Center on Instagram and Facebook.
Ordained in 2006, Fr. Jason has served as a Legionary priest throughout the US, primarily in New York and Michigan. His newest role has called him south, as the superior of the Houston community of the Legionaries of Christ.
