During the Christmas holidays, our churches look so beautiful with lighted trees, rich altar tapestries, and of course, the stable where baby Jesus lies in the manger. As we sing, “O come let us adore Him,” I am sure many of us would have loved to have been present to experience the birth of Our Lord long ago. If, by some great miracle, God was humanly present in our churches, on a particular day at a particular time, I feel certain we would do whatever was necessary to be there – just to gaze upon our sweet little Jesus.
Yet that same Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, walked the streets of Galilee, teaching and healing people, comes to us every day at Mass. Unlike the people in Bethlehem, we have the awesome opportunity to be one with Him in Holy Communion and make visits to Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Our God is there waiting for us, yet we are often too busy to come to Mass to receive Him or to stop and spend time with Him.
For many, daily Mass is not possible, but making a little visit in Church to tell Jesus that you love Him, is possible. It might mean that we have to prioritize our time, change our schedules and be willing to make the sacrifices needed to visit with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. It is only by spending time with Him, that we will get to know Him and in getting to know Him, we will come to love Him. In coming to love Him we will begin to love ourselves and others.
In our world full of broken commitments and selfish love, we need to immerse ourselves in the presence of Love Himself, if we want to be able to love truly.
In his book, “In the Presence of Our Lord,” Father Benedict Groeschel writes, “Here before the Blessed Sacrament, I feel at home as in no other place. My sins, my defects, my quirks are known to Him. There is no secret, nothing to be embarrassed about, no place to hide. I believe with all my failings, I have never been afraid to come to Him. In fact, I have run to Him and He has been there for me.”
We need to pray for the eyes of faith to see Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Many in Bethlehem only saw a little baby, no different from the rest. We will not be magically transported back to the stable, but can go and gaze on the blessed Babe and pour our love down upon Him in our Churches!
Christ is there for each of us! He is waiting to hear the cries of our hearts, the joys of our days, the love that we hold for Him. He wants to be part of each and every thing that we do. As we spend time with Jesus, we will begin to recognize Him as being truly present in the Eucharist. This will strengthen our faith to believe this truth and enable us to want to make the effort to commune with Him, by receiving Him in Holy Communion and in Eucharistic Adoration.
As the old year ends, and a new one begins, let us make a resolution to receive Jesus in Holy Communion more often, and make frequent visits to Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
In the words of St. Pope John Paul, “The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in the Sacrament of Love. Let us not refuse the time to meet Him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith, and open to making amends for serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease.”
“O come, let us adore Him!”
Amen Avia Joy!!!! What a great New Years Resolution, to spend more time with the "Hidden Jesus" as St. Therese lovingly called Him. "O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord"!
ReplyDelete