Less is More on This Day Before Christmas Eve

Over time, I've learned that less is more when it comes to presenting ideas, concepts, plans, and strategies in a clear and convincing manner. If you've ever sat through workplace presentations with endless power point slides, filled with excessive verbiage, slide after slide, as the presenter reads what's there for all to see, you'll likely have learned the less is best lesson: Get to the point with as few words, graphs, bullet points and pictures as possible.

I applied the same lesson to my spiritual preparation this Advent. Rather than pile on special prayers, devotions, mortifications, etc., I concentrated on a few items, mixing simplicity with some challenge. And after a couple years hiatus, I rekindled a past practice of reciting the aspiration we append to our Advent posts. The goal was to pray the aspiration - Divine Infant of Bethlehem, come and take birth in our hearts - one time for every year since Our Lord's birth roughly 2021 years ago. Seems not quite in tune with less is more. But with a bit of planning and a dose of discipline you break it down daily - which isn't so much at all. And isn't planning with a does of discipline something we need to do with our work load each day? So, in that way, it kind of folded neatly into my work. Nice.

There were other items beside this one, and a couple were stretches. But spiritual stretch can lead to a good result, just as physical stretch will when we exercise. Of course, as with exercise, don't overdo it. And, yes, you can injure yourself if you take your spiritual exercises to excess. Nevertheless, even without excess, such efforts required extra muscle, especially in the midst of our current C-Virus Mess. 

 

But it was worth it.

First, it helped to keep my mind relatively clear of the nonsense and distractions that have piled on all of us with the vaccine mandates and the plethora of falsehoods and outright lies that accompanied them. As Advent progressed, if you recall, the mandates - at least many of them - were being struck down by various courts (mostly). Some good news there. But the relentless pursuit of telling us all what to do never seems to tire our political leaders and their handlers. Then again, maybe we spy a beam of light at the end of that dark tunnel with those court decisions. Nevertheless, we've likely still got a long stretch of chugging along in the darkness ahead of us. 

 

Despite the continued devilish deluge spawned by our C-Virus Mess, identifying and practicing those simple yet challenging special spiritual practices has really helped not only prepare, but also clear the mind and heart. So even in the midst of the long dark tunnel, we can clearly see those precious images of the Birth of Our Lord: Bethlehem, the Star, Mary, Joseph and the Baby in the Manger.

And so as Advent 2021 draws to a close, all thanks be to God for the graces He bestowed on us during this Holy Season of preparation. As it always does, Christmas Eve has come so quickly! It's time to put aside our work and turn to Bethlehem, the Star, Mary, Joseph and the Baby in the Manger. If you remember that less is more, that city, that star and that Holy Family will be more than enough to make this a joyous and peaceful Christmas.

Divine Infant of Bethlehem, come and take birth in our hearts!