December 15, 2024
On the third Sunday
of Advent, we prayed: “Rejoice in the Lord always …. . Indeed, the Lord is
near.”
As Advent comes to a close, we are quickly coming to the celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ.
Saint Katharine reminds us that “The first Christmas was the beginning of the Human Life of Jesus. This Christmas is the beginning of a new life for us.”
How can we begin a new life for ourselves? We don’t have to leave family and home, but can revitalize our lives just where we are.
Saint Katharine has a
few suggestions:
“… don’t forget daily prayer, daily
meditation. Take the time for it for it is important as we were made to
praise, honor and serve God.”
Archbishop Fulton Sheen recommended that we take time for a quiet hour of adoration whenever we can. Blessed James Alberione, founder of the Pauline families, also advocated spending an hour each day in quiet adoration.
Even if you can’t get to a church or chapel each day for adoration, there is something else we can do. Saint Katharine urges us to “Try always to have sweet thoughts. It is as easy to have sweet thoughts as ugly ones. It is the same expenditure and it pays.”
Ugly thoughts can so mess up our day, spoiling our mood and darkening our outlook. We could be stuck in a long express line in the supermarket. Grumbling about the large orders ahead of us could make us unhappy and feel sour. Offering a few prayers of thanksgiving, thanks for being able to buy food and a home in which to enjoy it, would occupy our minds and time. This helps to shorten the wait time and to make our day a little brighter.
Shortly after Christmas Day we remember the death of the first martyr, Saint Stephen, and a few days later, the deaths of the Holy Innocents, We remember the beginning of Jesus’ human life and the beginning of the eternal lives of St. Stephen and of the Holy Innocents.
These feasts remind us that Jesus’ human life was not always full of joy and smiles and good times. As Saint Katharine wrote on December 28, 1893: “This life is our pilgrimage, eternity is our home.”
What do we take along with us on this pilgrimage? What can we do during this pilgrimage? We don’t have to plan big events or colossal deeds. God asks us to love Him in return for the love He has given us. How can we show God this love?
Saint Katharine suggests a way: “Love is proven by little things. Great things may never be asked of us. Little things appear at every moment.” Kind acts are love in action. Love of neighbor can be a challenge, but God asks that of us as well. A smile or a kind word can brighten the day of a neighbor who is having a bad day.
January 9, 1895, was the day on which Saint Katharine pronounced her vows for life, 130 years ago. Her motto, inscribed on her ring at that time, was “My Beloved to me, and I to Him.” This phrase, from the Song of Songs, referred to the love of a married couple. For Saint Katharine, it represented her personal relationship with the Lord and, subsequently, her relationship to all of His children. May we see all others as fellow children of our Savior and God, Jesus Christ.’’
January also includes Rev. Martin Luther King’s day. Dr. King advocated working for social justice in a non-violent way. Saint Katharine said that “Working for social justice can take many paths.” Whichever path we take, it can help us to appreciate the paths others have taken or are taking.
As we approach Christmas Day, may we remember that as we receive Holy Communion, we are as close to the Infant Jesus as if we were in the manger on that first Christmas.
Best wishes for a blessed Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.
Stephanie Morris,
ASBS
December 15, 2024
