José Romero, LC
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Christ, our King.
Thy Kingdom come!
Preparatory prayer (to put me in the presence of God)
Lord, help me to experience the joy of being a Christian.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke 1:39-45
In those days Mary went in haste to a village in the hill country of Judea, and entering the house of Zechariah, she greeted Elizabeth. As soon as she heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. Then Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and lifting up her voice, she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! Who am I, that the mother of my Lord should come to see me? As soon as your greeting reached my ears, the child leaped for joy in my womb. Blessed are you who have believed, for what was spoken to you by the Lord will be fulfilled.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
When we were children there was nothing more exciting than opening a gift. Discovering that it was something we wanted, sometimes unknowingly, filled us with great joy afterwards. But when we didn't need the gift, the joy simply didn't come. St. John the Baptist rejoices in his mother's womb because the Virgin Mary has brought the best gift for him, the Child God.
The world makes us believe that our happiness is money, cars, men or women, a good job, etc., but in the end all that, without God, remains in pure emotions, in a constant breaking of the wrapping without getting to the gift, without getting to experience true happiness, without having God. God is the gift of this Christmas, his presence in our life is what gives us true happiness. There is no greater gift than God.
There are many who are searching for this happiness without being able to find it, many who are searching for God without knowing it. We Christians must bring this gift to the hearts of those people, be it a family member, a friend or a stranger, because this gift is one that is shared, a gift that is for everyone.
We know that every gift is wrapped and God wanted me to be the role, I am the one who turns God into a gift for others, it is God in me for others. The Blessed Virgin shows us the bond with which this gift is presented; it is the bond of service with love, it is to give ourselves with love to the needs of others and thus, in us, people will be able to have “the gift” this Christmas, they will be able to have God.
Let us do as Mary did this Christmas and bring the gift of the Child God adorned with the example of our own life, an example of love.
«God visits us in the womb of a woman, mobilizing the womb of another woman with a song of blessing and praise, with a song of joy. The Gospel scene carries with it all the dynamism of God's visit: when God comes to meet us, he mobilizes our innermost being, he sets in motion what we are, to the point of transforming our whole life into praise and blessing. When God visits us, he leaves us restless, with the healthy restlessness of those who feel invited to announce that he lives and is in the midst of his people. This is what we see in Mary, the first disciple and missionary, the new Ark of the Covenant who, far from remaining in a reserved place in our Temples, goes out to visit and accompanies with her presence the gestation of John».
(Homily of H.H. Francis, December 12, 2016).
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare yourself to talk with much love with the One who loves you.
Purpose
Propose a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved... or, if you believe that this is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
Talking about Christ to a person.
Farewell
We thank you, Lord, for all your benefits, you who live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Christ, our King!
Thy Kingdom come!
Most prudent Virgin, Mary, Mother of the Church.
Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
