Christmas is just about here!
Can you believe it? Christmas is just about here. How does this happen every year? One day it's the first Sunday of Advent, then - whoosh! - it's Christmas.
I hope Advent didn't "get away" from you this year. I hope you were able to prepare yourself in that special way Holy Mother Church provides for us. Of course there's still time.
There's still time to get to confession and get straight with God. There's still time to prepare that special place in your heart for the baby Jesus - that special, pure place, warm and soft, that Our Blessed Mother will recognize as a place she can trust to hold her precious Son.
That's what we want, you know. We want our souls to be clean, warm, inviting places for the baby Jesus to rest. We want to be there for Him, for Joseph and Mary, after they are turned away from the inn. We want to see that innocent, lovely face of the newborn child, maybe even catching a glimpse of his little eyes as they take in the world - the very world He Himself made.
It makes me think of the birth of our first son. When he was born, he didn't cry. He literally opened his eyes as the nurse midwife was helping him out of his mother's womb. He opened those eyes wide and looked out at the world. The nurse midwife called him "bright eyes."
I wonder if Jesus did the same. I wonder if he looked out at His world with bright eyes that first Christmas.
It's time to start thinking about Him in this special way. It's time, even as you finish up your work before Christmas Day, to place Him in your heart and in your mind. No matter that your boss needs you to finish something before the big day. You'll get it done. No matter that your customers are waiting for whatever you promised to deliver. You'll deliver it. No matter that your client wants a few moments of your time in the midst of this already busy time. You'll make the time.
But in the midst of it all, in those moments that only God can provide to us, you'll still have time to think of Him, the Baby Jesus about to come into the world, into all our lives.
You'll have a moment or two to picture Joseph and Mary trudging to Bethlehem for the census. You'll see them turned away from the inn. You'll picture the cave where He was born, surrounded by animals, lying in a manger. You'll see the great Star of Bethlehem marking the greatest, most momentous event in all history, shining down on the humble family in their humble surroundings. A royal star, fit for a King, marking this greatest of moments.
All will be there for you if you make the time. Just take a moment here and there. Steal a second or two from that busy day at work. Maybe you can just get up a few minutes early, in the still of the dark winter morning, to see the Holy Family, the Birth of Our Lord, the Star in Bethelehem, the shepherds watching their flocks about to witness the amazing choir of angels calling them to the Manger, the three kings making their way to Bethlehem, following the Star to the One they knew would be someone unlike anyone ever born into this weary world.
In those little moments, you will see Jesus, just as He wants you to see Him this Christmas. You'll see Him, crystal clear, right before your eyes.
Who could ask for more? What gift could you give or receive to compare to the sight of Our Blessed Lord, come to us as a Baby, lying in a manger that first Christmas in Bethlehem?
Divine Infant of Bethlehem, come and take birth in our hearts!
I hope Advent didn't "get away" from you this year. I hope you were able to prepare yourself in that special way Holy Mother Church provides for us. Of course there's still time.
There's still time to get to confession and get straight with God. There's still time to prepare that special place in your heart for the baby Jesus - that special, pure place, warm and soft, that Our Blessed Mother will recognize as a place she can trust to hold her precious Son.
That's what we want, you know. We want our souls to be clean, warm, inviting places for the baby Jesus to rest. We want to be there for Him, for Joseph and Mary, after they are turned away from the inn. We want to see that innocent, lovely face of the newborn child, maybe even catching a glimpse of his little eyes as they take in the world - the very world He Himself made.
It makes me think of the birth of our first son. When he was born, he didn't cry. He literally opened his eyes as the nurse midwife was helping him out of his mother's womb. He opened those eyes wide and looked out at the world. The nurse midwife called him "bright eyes."
I wonder if Jesus did the same. I wonder if he looked out at His world with bright eyes that first Christmas.
It's time to start thinking about Him in this special way. It's time, even as you finish up your work before Christmas Day, to place Him in your heart and in your mind. No matter that your boss needs you to finish something before the big day. You'll get it done. No matter that your customers are waiting for whatever you promised to deliver. You'll deliver it. No matter that your client wants a few moments of your time in the midst of this already busy time. You'll make the time.
But in the midst of it all, in those moments that only God can provide to us, you'll still have time to think of Him, the Baby Jesus about to come into the world, into all our lives.
You'll have a moment or two to picture Joseph and Mary trudging to Bethlehem for the census. You'll see them turned away from the inn. You'll picture the cave where He was born, surrounded by animals, lying in a manger. You'll see the great Star of Bethlehem marking the greatest, most momentous event in all history, shining down on the humble family in their humble surroundings. A royal star, fit for a King, marking this greatest of moments.
All will be there for you if you make the time. Just take a moment here and there. Steal a second or two from that busy day at work. Maybe you can just get up a few minutes early, in the still of the dark winter morning, to see the Holy Family, the Birth of Our Lord, the Star in Bethelehem, the shepherds watching their flocks about to witness the amazing choir of angels calling them to the Manger, the three kings making their way to Bethlehem, following the Star to the One they knew would be someone unlike anyone ever born into this weary world.
In those little moments, you will see Jesus, just as He wants you to see Him this Christmas. You'll see Him, crystal clear, right before your eyes.
Who could ask for more? What gift could you give or receive to compare to the sight of Our Blessed Lord, come to us as a Baby, lying in a manger that first Christmas in Bethlehem?
Divine Infant of Bethlehem, come and take birth in our hearts!
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