In the Prayer for today's Mass, we pray: "May we receive forgiveness and mercy." We probably understand the broad meaning of such notions as "forgiveness," "mercy," "redemption" and so on, but it is likely we do not fully understand the finer details of what these graces of God mean in our lives.

The Prophet Malachi speaks of the work of God's messenger as "refining" and "purifying", and even describes the messenger himself as "like the refiner's fire." The doctrine that we, or our faith, must be purified by fire occurs both in the Old and the New Testament: God refines a remnant of his people as silver and gold are refined (Zech 13:9). The First Letter of Peter takes up this theme in the context of a baptismal liturgy (1Pet 1:7). We are precious in God's eyes, more precious than gold or silver, and like precious metals have to be refined. God refines us through the fire of love or through the fire of suffering. Christmas reminds us of how much God in his love suffered in order to refine us.