Towards A Truly Spiritual Christmas!

Today is the last Sunday of Advent. The season is about to end and we are closer to Christmas. 

From the first week of Advent, our ears were bombarded with Advent and Christmas songs everywhere we go.

Our celebration of Christmas is not a yearly birthday party for Jesus; it is the celebration of Him who once came in the flesh but who continuously comes. With Christmas around the corner, the days of Advent waiting are almost over. The Lord is coming very soon. 

A special attention is given to Mary. Mary has become more prominence on this last Sunday of Advent because, no one can help us to understand the meaning of Christmas better than Mary.

Mary is truly the model of Advent. God the Father prepared her from the first moment of her conception to be the worthy mother of His Son. Her “fiat”, her wholehearted “yes!” to the Archangel Gabriel, launched the immediate preparation for the birth of Jesus, the Messiah.

Today's Gospel is a story of Mary visits Elizabeth, (LK 1: 39-45). By going to Elizabeth’s aid, Mary was carrying the tiny Jesus in her womb and She became the first missionary, the first bearer of the Good News that would change all of human history. 

To bring joy to others this Christmas, we really have to bring Christ to others. He is the greatest gift we could ever bring to someone we love or to someone we meet. Without sharing Jesus, we are not giving our loved ones anything that is truly lasting. Bring Christ and you bring everything into someone's life.

In this Year of Mercy and as the day of Christmas quickly approaches, is there someone in my family or among my friends who is lonely, who is sick, who is estranged or alienated from me? How my presence can make a difference?

“Come Lord Jesus, come, through Mother of Mercy!"

It’s the first day of the Church's New Year – the very first Sunday in Advent - and as you’ll see, everything is a bit different today. The colours are different, the hymns are different, and there’s a sense of love and festivity in the air.

Advent and Christmas times are always busy with merrymakers around us. They come and go so quickly. But we should give more time and effort to our spiritual lives by living at our full potential is finding strength through Christ, the real meaning of these important liturgical seasons. Advent and Christmas are all about Christ coming to us.

Advent is a wake-up call – Advent confronts and wakes us from our dream. Advent is a time to wake up to Christ in our lives. We are invited to quietly prepare our hearts for His coming on Christmas so that He can be received by us with warmth and joy.

The “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” is what we should really prepare for. Christmas is about Our Saviour, Our Emmanuel and it begins in our hearts.

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is fine. The gifts, the shopping, the family gatherings are wonderful.

Pray that the Lord will help us during this Advent Season, which begins today, to see that the priorities in our lives, is preparing ourselves and those around us for a truly “spiritual” Christmas. Let us begin by opening our hearts to God, and humbly asking him, in the quiet of our hearts, for the grace to live this Advent better than the one before. 

Have a Jolly, Merry Advent & Christmas everyone!