The most important BIRTHDAY in the history of humanity is the birthday of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The key to experiencing the overflowing, exuberant joy of Christmas depends on the time, energy, and effort that we expend in preparing for this day. In short, the key to the success of the party depends on the prior preparation for the party.
The Church teaches about the three comings of the Lord Jesus Christ: In the Incarnation, historically about 2000 years ago (Jesus born in Bethlehem), at the end of time—this is left for God the Father; finally, and very pertinent to us in the present moment, is that Jesus comes to us constantly by means of grace!
Therefore, we would like to offer a concrete plan on how we can prepare for the Birthday of Jesus in our own life, our own mind, our own heart, and in the depths of our soul by means of grace right now! May Mary, the Mother of God, the good Saint Joseph, and the holy angels of God assist us in the most noble of endeavors. May this Christmas be a radical change in our lives.
1. CLEAN THE STABLE. If we are not living in the state of grace, then nothing happens spiritually in our lives; we are like a dead branch hanging from a withering tree. Why not have the courage, trust, and humility to prepare yourself to make the best Sacramental Confession in your life. Clean the inner stable of your soul of all the dirt, cobwebs, smut, and debris that belongs in the moral trash-bin. Sweep clean the recesses of your inner life so that Jesus can be born in you with immense and overflowing joy this Christmas.
2. SILENCE. We sing the famous Christmas hymn Silent Night, but this song must resonate in the very depths of our spiritual lives now more than ever. Shrill cries, loud noises, constant chatter, endless news items, a whirlwind of constant noise pollution bombards us north, south, east and west. Now more than ever we urgently need silence, silence, silence… Why? So that we can hear the gentle breeze of God’s voice talking in the depths of our hearts. May the words of the young Samuel resonate in our hearts: “Speak, O Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Sam 3:10)
3. BIBLICAL MEDITATION. In the strong times of the year—both Advent that leads to Christmas and Lent that culminates in the Easter triumph—the Church warmly and insistently exhorts her children to have the Bible, the Word of God, in their hands for meditation. May Our Lady who meditated upon the Word of God in her Immaculate Heart be our constant and splendid model. If you like, meditate upon the Biblical Readings in the Mass; this must be our Daily Bread!!!
4. PEACE. As we approach the Birthday of Jesus, the word SHALOM—PEACE BE WITH YOU should set the mood of this season of joy. Examine your social relationships, especially with respect to those who are closest to you, particularly in your family. Is there any person that you are at odds with, that you resent, that you have bitter feelings about? Now is the time to reconcile! Sometimes the most difficult words for us to express are I’M SORRY!!! Perhaps those are the two words that can transform your Christmas Day from bitterness to overflowing joy! Remember what Jesus says: “If you are offering your gift and recognize that someone has something against you, leave your gift at the altar and reconcile with your brother, and then return to offer the gift.” (Mt 5:23-24) Recall the words of the great English poet, Alexander Pope: “To err is human; to forgive is divine.”
5. CONQUER LAZINESS. The poet Dante presents the contrast between the Capital sins and their opposing virtues in the Divine Comedy, Purgatorio. The opposing virtue to laziness is diligence. Dante presents Our Lady in the Visitation as the model. After Mary conceived Jesus through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, Mary went in haste to help and serve her cousin Saint Elizabeth. As Christmas approaches, like Our Lady, may we move in haste to carry out the inspirations that God sends to us through His Holy Spirit. Let us not wait for tomorrow to do what we can do now! Life is short and as the saints are known to say: “Let us work hard in this life and rest forever in heaven.” (St Peter Canisius)
6. SAINT JOSEPH. One of the most humble, hidden, and inconspicuous figures in the Bible is the Glorious Saint Joseph. Of all the saints, he is the greatest. Being both the Spouse of Mary and the earthly Father of Jesus, his dignity and holiness transcends the stars! It was the great Saint Joseph who protected Mary. It was this great man who found a place where the Child Jesus could be born. It was this same saint who protected the Child Jesus from being slaughtered by the malicious King Herod. Why not lift your mind and heart in prayer to Saint Joseph and implore him for the grace to truly celebrate Christmas with yearning, and longing, and overflowing love!
7. EYES OPENED TO THE NEEDS OF THE POOR. It is so true that Jesus was born in the abject poverty of a stable for animals. Later on in His preaching, Jesus taught in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” (Mt 5:3) To capture the utter depths of Christmas, we must have contemplative eyes to see Jesus even today truly present in the poor, the sick, the abandoned, the elderly, the marginalized, the dying, the imprisoned. Read and meditate on the Bible chapter that summarizes the Corporal Works of Mercy—Mt 25:31-46. Examine your daily walk and contacts. Who is that hungry, or poor, or naked, or foreigner, or sick, or imprisoned person that God has placed in your path and is really Jesus. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta expressed it in these words: “We must see Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor.”
8. THE REAL GIFT OF CHRISTMAS: JESUS HIMSELF! The name Bethlehem actually means: House of Bread. Jesus in “The Bread of Life discourse” (Jn chapter 6) refers to Himself as the Bread of Life that gives life to the world. The fullest meaning and living out of Christmas is to live out the Mass: Christmas—the Mass of Christ. And of course the culminating point of Mass is the Consecration which terminates in the reception of Holy Communion. Your soul becomes in actuality “The Little House of Bethlehem.” An all-important title for Jesus in Advent and Christmas is Emmanuel—God with us! Jesus is truly with us in the celebration of Holy Mass and the reception of Holy Communion. In a real sense, Christmas can be lived every day!
9. BRING SOME LOST SHEEP TO THE ARMS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The largest religious group in the United States, Mexico, Europe, and the Philippines is non-practicing Catholics. These are wandering sheep, ships without a port, arrows shot with no target, drivers with no GPS or destination. They are wandering in no-man’s land, in the wasteland (T.S. Elliot). This Christmas season why not invite one of these, who are in the millions, to come back to Church. Invite them to make a good Sacramental Confession telling them of the love and mercy in the Heart of Jesus. Then encourage them to return to the practice of living out a fervent Sacramental life. Remember the words of Saint James: “My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring that person back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of their way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20)
10. MARY AND THE MYSTERY OF CHRISTMAS. Following the solid advice of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and the Spiritual Exercises why not enter into a Contemplative scene of Christmas? Why not contemplate the Baby Jesus resting in the arms of His Mother Mary? Why not beg Mary for the grace to take the Baby Jesus into your own arms? Contemplate Him; talk to Him; kiss His little Face and tell Him from the very depths of your heart how grateful you are for His coming to save you, how much you love Him for having died for you on the cross and shedding every drop of His Precious Blood for the salvation of your immortal soul. To plumb the very depths of the Mystery of Christmas we must enter into the most pure and Immaculate Heart of Mary who is the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and your Mother!
