Merry Christmas!
I thought I'd share from the Magnificat, a daily devotion that we have been using during the season of Advent. It really touched me this morning and I hope it does the same for you. May you all have a great birthday celebration today!
"For all of human history people have been searching for God. The search has expressed itself in the worship of imaginary gods who jealously grasped at power; it has expressed itself in the philosophical idea of an impersonal god who is remote and distant; it has expressed itself in the human attempt at power and self-glorification. And what do we find today? We find that God does not grasp for power, but empties himself of it in order to express his true authority, which springs from love. We find that God does not want to watch us from a distance but instead has become flesh, i.e., a member of our family. And who are those who recognize this unexpected presence of God in our midst? Not the prideful and powerful, but those who humble acknowledgment of their weakness leads them to beg for a Savior and joyfully welcome him in the gloriously lowly way he has chosen to come. In Jesus, the Word has become flesh, God has revealed himself to the simple-hearted. And blessed are we who celebrate this day as the greatest discovery of all time - the discovery that God, for whom we groped in the darkness, has pierced the darkness with his humanity and has found us. May all who have walked in darkness today welcome the light: Jesus Christ, Emmanuel."
Reflection based on Luke 2:1-14
Father Richard Veras
Loving Father increase my faith in the incarnation of your Son, increase my awareness of how this has changed human history and my personal history, and increase my recognition of his divine and human presence as he pierces the darkness of this world today and every day.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Getting Prepared!
Preparation and Christmas go together like flour and water. We prepare our homes with trees and decorations; we shop for days or months to make sure we're prepared for an evening around the tree; we prepare for family meals and gatherings; we prepare for travel, plays and parties; but one question I have to ask myself is am I taking the time to prepare my heart for what brings us all together in the first place? As many of you may know, it is the season of Advent. Advent starts a new liturgical year, but it's also a time of preparation of our souls, a preparation to make us worthy to celebrate the coming of our lord. This season of advent should be used to prepare ourselves spiritually so that we may truly honor Christ with our celebration on Christmas, the celebration of the birth of our savior, the Word made flesh. As we celebrate, we also stay focused on what his birth gave to us, his presence with us today in the Eucharist and Holy Scripture, and his future coming in glory! Christ's birth gave us all of these things so in celebrating his birth, we celebrate the gifts he gave.
Are we preparing our minds to stay focused on the one we celebrate? Are we preparing our families to properly celebrate God's son, our savior? Are we being consumed by every marketing plot and every care of the department stores or are we staying focused on being a faithful servant while in the midst of all the shopping? Are we teaching our children more about Santa and presents or about Christ and the gift of salvation? We can tell alot about ourselves, and how we are treating this season, all in how our children are expressing their excitement. I know, I know children will be children, and I'm not saying that we should expect our children to ignore the fact that they get to open presents on Christmas morning, but is that all they are looking forward to? Our children go to birthday parties of their friends throughout the year and they get excited, but why are they excited, they aren't the one's getting the gifts? They are excited because they get to go play games with their friends and eat special treats with their friends...they are excited about the celebration and the fellowship. Sure, the gift giving is a part of it, but we use these moments to teach our children that giving to someone is a great joy. It's more about the celebration of that person and their birth and that's why we give gifts. Well, this is Christmas, the best birthday party of all...our children should be excited about celebrating Jesus' birthday with their families, not more excited about Santa and his gifts. Are we spending time helping the kids get their lists for Santa ready, but only mentioning Jesus when we see a nativity? Are we taking time in every day during advent to talk about what our savior means to us? The answer to this question can tell us alot about how we are influencing our children during the season of advent...are we preparing them for the birth of our savior or the fun fat guy with toys? I don't mean to sound as if shopping and gift giving aren't important because they are, but it's why we shop and why we give gifts that's important. It's the celebration of our everlasting life that brings about that joy unmeasurable!
There are many ways to help our families grow in the right direction and that's what advent is for...building a foundation in our children and in ourselves, but I find myself getting lost in the fuss, trying to get from one store to another and trying to make sure I've completed the lists. Advent should bring about peace and humility and I should take this time to ready myself to answer the call of service (Gal 5:13). How can I serve God and those around me? Christ's coming began with a call to serve. Mary answered yes to this calling of service and took on the greatest responsibility anyone could ever take on, other than the saving mission of our lord. So I'm forced to ask myself, "Am I serving as Mary served?" The name 'Ebed, or "servant" in Hebrew, was used in speaking of an important servant to the king, someone of great trust and honor. This title then given to people who held this seat in relation to God...someone given a specific task or mission like Moses (Exodus 14:31; Num 12:7), Elijah (1 Kgs 18:36), David (2 Sam 3:18; 1 Kgs 11:34), and several of the prophets (Amos 3:7; Jer 25:4). If I focus on serving, I stay focused on God. As we serve one another, we are serving Christ, and as we humble ourselves we are given grace from God (1 Pet 5:5) and I don't know about you but, I am in much need of God's grace in my life. So I ask, what's my task, what's my mission during advent and throughout this season? The answer is simple...to know, to love, and to serve...because as I serve God, I begin to know God better; and as I begin to know God better, I begin to love God more. The more I love God, the more I want to know and serve him and the cycle starts all over again.
Our savior's birth brought about an everlasting change to the world, unifying us with our neighbors and strangers alike, but the greatest unity is that between us and our lord. It's this unity to our lord that calls our soul to serve...like it or not, right or wrong, people are generally "nicer" around this time of year. That's not to say that you won't find a scrooge here and there, but overall there is "Christmas in the air". I think we would all agree with an emphatic yes that we should be the same year round, but the thought still rests in the back of our minds that we all are not. We are creatures of habit and unfortunately our habits tend to be more displeasing to God than pleasing...or at least in my life they are. It is for this very reason that Advent exists, to help us start this upcoming year with better habits and an increased devotion to God. It's here, a time to start the habit of daily self examination, so that we can be prepared for the coming of Christ...not only celebrating his birth, but his presence here today and tomorrow. We use advent as a time to call out to the lord, asking for his grace and mercy, so that we may be worthy to recognize His voice when He calls and receive Him when He comes.
Pray for me that I use this season of advent preparing myself and my family for the coming of the lord...that I may present the best of myself and my family as we greet our savior this year at Christmas.
...we wait together, we long together, we pray together in unity. "Come, lord Jesus, bring us your salvation!"
Are we preparing our minds to stay focused on the one we celebrate? Are we preparing our families to properly celebrate God's son, our savior? Are we being consumed by every marketing plot and every care of the department stores or are we staying focused on being a faithful servant while in the midst of all the shopping? Are we teaching our children more about Santa and presents or about Christ and the gift of salvation? We can tell alot about ourselves, and how we are treating this season, all in how our children are expressing their excitement. I know, I know children will be children, and I'm not saying that we should expect our children to ignore the fact that they get to open presents on Christmas morning, but is that all they are looking forward to? Our children go to birthday parties of their friends throughout the year and they get excited, but why are they excited, they aren't the one's getting the gifts? They are excited because they get to go play games with their friends and eat special treats with their friends...they are excited about the celebration and the fellowship. Sure, the gift giving is a part of it, but we use these moments to teach our children that giving to someone is a great joy. It's more about the celebration of that person and their birth and that's why we give gifts. Well, this is Christmas, the best birthday party of all...our children should be excited about celebrating Jesus' birthday with their families, not more excited about Santa and his gifts. Are we spending time helping the kids get their lists for Santa ready, but only mentioning Jesus when we see a nativity? Are we taking time in every day during advent to talk about what our savior means to us? The answer to this question can tell us alot about how we are influencing our children during the season of advent...are we preparing them for the birth of our savior or the fun fat guy with toys? I don't mean to sound as if shopping and gift giving aren't important because they are, but it's why we shop and why we give gifts that's important. It's the celebration of our everlasting life that brings about that joy unmeasurable!
There are many ways to help our families grow in the right direction and that's what advent is for...building a foundation in our children and in ourselves, but I find myself getting lost in the fuss, trying to get from one store to another and trying to make sure I've completed the lists. Advent should bring about peace and humility and I should take this time to ready myself to answer the call of service (Gal 5:13). How can I serve God and those around me? Christ's coming began with a call to serve. Mary answered yes to this calling of service and took on the greatest responsibility anyone could ever take on, other than the saving mission of our lord. So I'm forced to ask myself, "Am I serving as Mary served?" The name 'Ebed, or "servant" in Hebrew, was used in speaking of an important servant to the king, someone of great trust and honor. This title then given to people who held this seat in relation to God...someone given a specific task or mission like Moses (Exodus 14:31; Num 12:7), Elijah (1 Kgs 18:36), David (2 Sam 3:18; 1 Kgs 11:34), and several of the prophets (Amos 3:7; Jer 25:4). If I focus on serving, I stay focused on God. As we serve one another, we are serving Christ, and as we humble ourselves we are given grace from God (1 Pet 5:5) and I don't know about you but, I am in much need of God's grace in my life. So I ask, what's my task, what's my mission during advent and throughout this season? The answer is simple...to know, to love, and to serve...because as I serve God, I begin to know God better; and as I begin to know God better, I begin to love God more. The more I love God, the more I want to know and serve him and the cycle starts all over again.
Our savior's birth brought about an everlasting change to the world, unifying us with our neighbors and strangers alike, but the greatest unity is that between us and our lord. It's this unity to our lord that calls our soul to serve...like it or not, right or wrong, people are generally "nicer" around this time of year. That's not to say that you won't find a scrooge here and there, but overall there is "Christmas in the air". I think we would all agree with an emphatic yes that we should be the same year round, but the thought still rests in the back of our minds that we all are not. We are creatures of habit and unfortunately our habits tend to be more displeasing to God than pleasing...or at least in my life they are. It is for this very reason that Advent exists, to help us start this upcoming year with better habits and an increased devotion to God. It's here, a time to start the habit of daily self examination, so that we can be prepared for the coming of Christ...not only celebrating his birth, but his presence here today and tomorrow. We use advent as a time to call out to the lord, asking for his grace and mercy, so that we may be worthy to recognize His voice when He calls and receive Him when He comes.
Pray for me that I use this season of advent preparing myself and my family for the coming of the lord...that I may present the best of myself and my family as we greet our savior this year at Christmas.
...we wait together, we long together, we pray together in unity. "Come, lord Jesus, bring us your salvation!"
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