Sue O’Donnell. 18.12.20
“My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.” (An Act of Spiritual Communion offered during the Mass for those who cannot attend)
To know that the sacred heart of Jesus
Is born to us as from that first Christmas,
This truly was wondrous and still is.
This very heart sits not only at the centre of Christmas,
But is the heart of the Holy Eucharist.
The heart of holy love is beating
There on the altar, where we approach Him,
To begin to be renewed and replenished by forgiveness.
For the wafer offered to us is the beating heart of Jesus.
Who says the age of miracles is passed?
The chalice of wine is the same blood
As was shed for us at the †centuries ago.
All so we know in the Son who has come,
The incredible love and mercy of our heavenly Father.
We come to Christ Jesus to be united with Him,
Giving over our life entirely to His Lordship
As designated over us by our heavenly Father.
“O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance.” (Psalm 16 v 5, 6)
We are not worthy to receive One so holy, not at all.
But our desire is to be consecrated by our Saviour,
Being touched by the Holy Spirit of faith, His love.
Then we hope to live life reverently,
All faults and failings which prayerfully,
Daily we will endeavour to overcome.
But we commit to the infinite merits of Christ Jesus.
To be made righteous by His blood sacrificed for us
Is, in the Mass especially, to venerate the †.
The Lord Jesus’ holiness atones for our sinfulness.
I imagine all sin to be cast into the furnace,
Ever brightly burning, of the love of the Almighty Trinity.
How incredibly blessed we are to be thought of
As becoming a part of His family because the Lord Jesus owns us,
The Holy Spirit enabling us to accept life as it happens,
Our struggles and hardships offered up as our sacrifice.
Receiving the heart of love in Jesus, this is Christmas.
Even if we cannot actually attend a Mass that day.
“Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.” (An act of Spiritual Communion cont)
“I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.” (An Act of Spiritual Communion concluded)
Father of mercies, You will know that many Catholic believers cannot attend Mass this Christmas because the Corona Pandemic dictates that we shield to be safe.
This is a sacrifice we have to make. Please help us to feel the Spirit of Christmas. It will be so much harder without receiving the most precious body and blood of the Lord Jesus in holy communion.
I think it will help if we make the disciple Peter’s comment our own: “You have never seen Him in the flesh, yet still you love Him. Even though you cannot see Him physically now, you still believe in Him and are filled with a glorious sense of joy.” (1 Peter 1 v 8 the Truth)
May Christmas be a season of joy to us for we have been chosen as the Lord Jesus’ brothers and sisters who know, respond to, and value above all else, His blood which covers all our sin and failures.
“For even now you are in the process of receiving the objective of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (v 9) when we make an act of spiritual communion. Thank You that we can pray and do so.
Christmas is to be the season the angels sang about, as they proclaimed our Saviour’s birth, a time of peace on earth and goodwill towards men.
The goodwill is Your mercy towards us, Father God. “Because You loved the people of the world, You gave Your one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not die eternally, but have Your gift of eternal life instead.” (based on John 3 v 16 The Truth)
The Lord Jesus is the truth of Your love and mercy born to us. This is goodwill indeed. May the goodwill spread out between all peoples, places, countries and continents.
“Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mercy most holy...Blessed be the name of Mary, virgin and mother. Blessed be Saint Joseph, her spouse most chaste.” (The Divine Praises) Blessed be the Baby, Christ Jesus and this family of Nazareth who are a shining example of family life to us.
Mary lived her life in faith and obedience, giving to us the glorious song of praise we call the “Magnificat” thank You. Oh that we should echo its sentiments.
“ ‘My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour...For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.” (Luke 1 v 46, 47, 49, 50)
Let us make this joyous song an anthem for the Christmas season, together with the sentiments of the ‘O’Antiphons, the verses traditionally sung before and after the canticle of Mary each evening at Vesper in the Catholic Church.
“O wisdom, You came forth from the mouth of the Most High and reached from end to end, and disposed of all things secretly and mightily; come and teach us the way of prudence.” (Traditional
‘O’ Antiphon)
Thank You, we praise You, Lord God, that the Lord Jesus comes to us to reveal by means of the Holy Spirit, Your wisdom and truth we need to live by.
Therefore we can pray in hope to the One who manifests Your love and mercy and reflects completely holy power and wisdom, as brought us by the Holy Spirit.
May it be then that whatever we do, we do for the glory of the Holy Trinity, in all we think, plan, purpose, decide, do and say. Let us by the love of the Lord Jesus and the impact of the Holy Spirit, gift our very best
self to You, dearest Father.
We are told “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart,” (Psalm 37 v 4) which should be our highest desire at all times, to be possessed of the life of love the Lord Jesus offers us.
Christmas comes, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of You, Father God, full of grace and truth,” (based on John 1 v 14) wisdom and power.
“O Jesus, through the most pure heart of Mary, - Blessed be her immaculate conception” (The Divine Praises) “I offer You, the prayer, the work, the suffering and the joy of this day in union with Your Divine Heart in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” (Traditional Catholic Prayer)
Our faith life is all about gaining, maintaining and sharing the true heart of love as offered us from the birth of Christ Jesus onwards. Life should never be the same again with our devotion to the Holy Trinity.
Dearest Father, the Father God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, please “Give us a Spirit of wisdom and perception of what is being revealed, to bring us to full knowledge of Him.” (based on Ephesians 1 v 17)
For Jesus is our forever Saviour, the Bread of Life, His blood the purifying agent of our salvation, healing sinfulness and restoring us to every blessed grace and favour. Oh how truly wondrous Christmas should be.
We live in hope. May the Holy Spirit always work with this hope. Amen.
CATEGORY: (EUCHARIST)
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
CHRISTMAS
Key Themes
EUCHARIST
