Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
In just five days we will celebrate Christmas. The event that we have been preparing for with such enthusiasm - that hidden mystery of which Saint Paul speaks today - is almost here. In this final stretch, I want to encourage all of you not to become distracted now that we are so close to the end. Many may be tempted to think that since they have not lived Advent to this day as they would have liked, it is too late. Some may think, "I have lost the first three weeks, and in the few days that are left, there is no longer time to fix my mistakes and make up for my negligence." After all, how can we remedy in five days what we haven't done in 20?
I am going to propose three commitments that can save your Advent, if you have not lived it well so far, or that can help you finish your preparations for Christmas if you have used the time well.
The first commitment is the imitation of Mary in today's Gospel. Just as She welcomed the message of God and pondered it in her Heart, I want to invite you to meditate on the mystery of Christmas for 15 minutes a day. If you do this until December 25th, that will be an hour of silent meditation before Christmas. I assure you that in one hour, God can change a person's heart.
To help in this meditation, tomorrow I will post on Flocknote some reflections on the mystery of Christmas that can guide your prayer. You could also use the readings from this Sunday, or those of Christmas Day, or other books and materials that you are familiar with and will help you. But, whatever you do, don't steal those fifteen minutes from God! Hang in there like a champion!
The second is to make a good confession before Christmas. To arrive at December 25th without being in God's grace defeats the whole purpose of Advent and Christmas. As Origen, a father of the Church, said, “What is the use of Christ being born, if he is not born in you?” Don't let that happen. At St. Anne, the last chance for confession before Christmas will be Tuesday, December 22nd. On that day we will offer 12 hours of confession. You can also go to other parishes if you prefer, but make your heart clean for the coming of the Child Jesus.
By the way, I have a favor to ask of you. On these days when we offer extended confession hours, there are always a lot of people who come, and some of them are what Saint John Marie Vianney, the Holy Cure of Ars, used to call "big fish" - people who have not confessed for a long time or who especially need the grace of the sacrament because they have sins that weigh heavily on their consciences. For this reason, I ask all of you that more than ever that day we all strictly adhere to the confession of sins so that every confession can be heard, and that none of those "big fish” go without receiving the grace of a new life that God has come to give us.
The last commitment is charity, which I propose to you in the form of forgiveness and reconciliation. God does not forgive a person who is unwilling to forgive from the heart his worst enemy. Do not let Christmas arrive with enmity in your heart for anyone. I encourage you, if necessary, to pick up the phone and communicate with that person who wronged you, or for whom you have any resentment, hold any grudges, or with whom you have separated due to a problem or an argument. It may be one of your siblings or one of your parents, an old friend or an acquaintance. Ask them how they are, wish them a Merry Christmas, ask for their forgiveness without trying to justify your anger.
Do whatever it takes so that when the Child Jesus knocks on the door of your heart to fulfill the promise he made to David in the first reading, you can present him with a heart reconciled with God and also reconciled with all your neighbors.
Prayer, conversion and reconciliation. Do this in these few days that are left and your Christmas could be the beginning of a new life. We ask Saint John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph to grant us fidelity to God in these resolutions and that we receive Christ as they did: with faith, with great expectation and with extraordinary love.
