Tag Archives: Advent

Journey to Bethlehem

The road to Bethlehem

In this season of Advent we can learn much about how to focus our spiritual life from Our Lady, as she makes her way to Bethlehem with St Joseph. Among the lessons Mary teaches us are:

      • Docility to the will of God
      • Self-giving to others
      • Bearing hardships without complaining
      • Purifying our soul through penance
      • Life of prayer
      • Bringing Christ to others

The first Christmas gift

Christmas is a time for giving gifts. The wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus, but the first Christmas gift was Jesus himself, a gift from the Father to all of mankind. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture to consider how we can live Advent like Our Lady and St Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men, to show our gratitude to Jesus by:

  • Growing in our life of prayer in all its forms, especially through meditation on the Scripture passages that refer to Christ’s birth
  • Living a life of sacrifice, as has been traditional in Advent, to clean out the stable of our soul and make it welcome to receive Jesus
  • Giving of ourselves to those around us, for what we do to them we do to Jesus
  • Preparing well for four comings of Jesus: at Christmas 2000 years ago, at the end of time, everyday when he comes into our life in different ways, and when he comes to call us to eternal life with him.

The spirit of Advent

In Advent, we prepare for the coming of Christ in history, which we celebrate at Christmas, and for his coming in glory at the end of time. We can also prepare for his coming daily into our hearts and for his coming at the end of our life to call us to our eternal home. To live Advent well, It is good to consider it like a “little Lent”. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, St Cyril of Jerusalem and St Bernard of Clairvaux to consider how we can do this:

  • Learning from Mary and Joseph on their journey to Bethlehem
  • Improving our life of prayer
  • Living a generous spirit of penance
  • Showing more love to those around us

John the Baptist, Precursor of Christ

In the lead-up to Christmas, the liturgy reminds us repeatedly of the important role of St John the Baptist, the precursor of Jesus in preparing the people to receive him. In this meditation we consider:

  • The similarities between the annunciations by the archangel Gabriel to Zechariah and Mary  of the birth of a child
  • The importance of John’s role as the last and greatest prophet to announce the way of the Lord
  • John’s virtues of detachment from comforts and humility that make him so efficacious in carrying out his role
  • John’s efficacy in announcing Christ to two of his own disciples: John the Evangelist and Andrew
  • Our own mission of making Christ known to the people of our day