We are entering the liturgical season of Advent, a time of waiting and preparation for the coming of the Lord. And during this time we can hear echoing John the Baptist’s invitation: “Prepare the way for the Lord!”
Are we preparing a way for the Lord?
Are we letting ourselves see the presence of the Lord?
Are we ready to receive the grace that God is offering us?
How do we prepare ourselves to receive the gift that God is willing to give us?
There are mainly two ways how we can prepare ourselves for the Lord. First of all we need to get acquainted with the Lord. To get acquainted with someone we need to get to know this person. We can achieve this by spending time with this person, by talking to this person and by listening to this person. In other words, if we want to have a loving and intimate relationship with the Lord, we need to spend time with him in prayer where we open ourselves to God, talk to him and listen to what he has to tell us. One way of achieving this is through his inspired Word. If we use the scripture readings for the daily mass for our prayer and reflection, we will have the possibility of preparing ourselves progressively to the coming of the Lord and also search for answers for our problems. It is a wonderful way of establishing or strengthening and deepening our loving and intimate with God, our loved one.
The second part of our preparation is by examining ourselves. We need to ask ourselves whom are we putting first in our lives: God or ourselves. If God is not our first choice we are missing out on the grace that God is offering to us.
God is offering us a wonderful and precious gift: his only Son, Jesus Christ. It is the best gift that God the Father could offer to us. It is then up to us if we make use of this gift. If we receive a gift and we would not care at least to unwrap it, it would be obvious that we could care less about the gift or who gave it to us. To show our appreciation, we need to unwrap the gift and make use of it.
What are we seeking this Christmas? Are we seeking the gift of God or the gifts we receive under the tree? Are we seeking Jesus or are we seeking to satisfy ourselves and our cravings?
Many of us do not like Christmas because our wishes for happiness are never fulfilled and are relieved once Christmas is over. Some people are lonely and depressed and they hope that their loneliness could be filled with the gifts and the festivities. It is obvious that they are not seeking God’s gift but instead they are seeking worldly things to fill the void in their hearts. And the void in our hearts has only one shape: the shape of Jesus and only Jesus could fit in that void and fill it completely.
God is willing and eager to give us his Gift. Are we ready to accept it? If yes, we need to do one thing without which we cannot accept the Gift, we need to put God first in our lives.
Are we preparing a way for the Lord?
Are we letting ourselves see the presence of the Lord?
Are we ready to receive the grace that God is offering us?
How do we prepare ourselves to receive the gift that God is willing to give us?
There are mainly two ways how we can prepare ourselves for the Lord. First of all we need to get acquainted with the Lord. To get acquainted with someone we need to get to know this person. We can achieve this by spending time with this person, by talking to this person and by listening to this person. In other words, if we want to have a loving and intimate relationship with the Lord, we need to spend time with him in prayer where we open ourselves to God, talk to him and listen to what he has to tell us. One way of achieving this is through his inspired Word. If we use the scripture readings for the daily mass for our prayer and reflection, we will have the possibility of preparing ourselves progressively to the coming of the Lord and also search for answers for our problems. It is a wonderful way of establishing or strengthening and deepening our loving and intimate with God, our loved one.
The second part of our preparation is by examining ourselves. We need to ask ourselves whom are we putting first in our lives: God or ourselves. If God is not our first choice we are missing out on the grace that God is offering to us.
God is offering us a wonderful and precious gift: his only Son, Jesus Christ. It is the best gift that God the Father could offer to us. It is then up to us if we make use of this gift. If we receive a gift and we would not care at least to unwrap it, it would be obvious that we could care less about the gift or who gave it to us. To show our appreciation, we need to unwrap the gift and make use of it.
What are we seeking this Christmas? Are we seeking the gift of God or the gifts we receive under the tree? Are we seeking Jesus or are we seeking to satisfy ourselves and our cravings?
Many of us do not like Christmas because our wishes for happiness are never fulfilled and are relieved once Christmas is over. Some people are lonely and depressed and they hope that their loneliness could be filled with the gifts and the festivities. It is obvious that they are not seeking God’s gift but instead they are seeking worldly things to fill the void in their hearts. And the void in our hearts has only one shape: the shape of Jesus and only Jesus could fit in that void and fill it completely.
God is willing and eager to give us his Gift. Are we ready to accept it? If yes, we need to do one thing without which we cannot accept the Gift, we need to put God first in our lives.
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