/ Announcements, Reflections / By

ADORATION MAKES EVERYDAY CHRISTMAS!

Venite Adoremus….O Come let us Adore Him!!!

Soon will be the season to sing one of our most cherished carols: “O Come All Ye Faithful” — O Come Let Us Adore Him.” This heartfelt carol should remind us that adoring Jesus isn’t limited to Christmastime. We can do that all year long at Eucharistic adoration.

At Christmas, when we look in the crib and at that beauty of the crèche, we’re all drawn to the central image: baby Jesus and his face. And we can imagine what it was like for Joseph and Mary to see that face for the first time.

And that’s what we do at adoration. “We are in awe of what we see, and that awe is one of peace, love, joy and fulfillment. What we gaze upon is so simple and beautiful. There’s no artificiality. We gaze upon the beauty of the living God. That’s an echo of looking at the crib at Christmas, and it’s a continuing gift throughout the year.”

Here at Holy Family, Festac and in other parishes doing likewise, Jesus is not in a crib but daily in the monstrance on the altar or in an adoration chapel. It is the same Jesus who was born on that first Christmas.

Addressing an International Eucharistic Congress, Pius XII reminded the faithful “that the risen Savior never really left the earth. He is both in heaven and on earth. The same identical Jesus whom the angels and saints behold in the beatific vision is with us in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. This is the Real Presence.”

In his 2007 apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis (On the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church’s Life and Mission), Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “The act of adoration outside Mass prolongs and intensifies all that takes place during the liturgical celebration itself.”

It’s like the Christ Child at Christmas is giving us gifts, too. The many gifts — good fruits — that a parish can receive on the whole from adoration include increase in devotion, faith, reconciliation, daily Mass attendance and greater unity among parishioners, indeed-It’s an overall strengthening of the parish.

This happens to be what Benedict recommended in Sacramentum Caritatis: “Especially in their preparation for first holy Communion, children [should] be taught the meaning and the beauty of spending time with Jesus, and helped to cultivate a sense of awe before his presence in the Eucharist.” Silence is a gift. “In a world where there is so much noise, so much bewilderment,” says  Pope Benedict XVI, “there is a need for silent adoration of Jesus concealed in the Host.”

Adoration brings this exchange of gifts. Like the Magi did, we bring the gift of ourselves to the Blessed Sacrament during the year. “We come bearing gifts, but what we take away from adoration is far more. Just like the Magi showed up to be in the presence of Our Lord, in similar ways we’re in his divine presence — body, blood, soul and divinity. All year long we can be there with the shepherds, Joseph and Mary. Every day should have us singing, “O come let us adore him!”

It’s a simple invitation: come meet Jesus Christ. He’s in this chapel. Come sit and be loved for as long as you want to be loved. Come be in the presence of God. He’ll wrap his arms around you and love you in a way you’ve never experienced.

There are many guides for praying in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, or in making a Holy Hour. Here’s one method: beg the Lord for mercy. Ask Him for what you want. Thank him for what you have. Then be quiet and listen.

Dearly beloved child of God, I want to encourage you to end this year and begin the New Year with adoration… as a person, as a family…Spend time with Our Lord in adoration, then share that experience with others. Invite them to experience the gift of Jesus Christ. It’s like Christmas every day of the year.

From all of us on the pastoral team…Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year !!!

Fr Melvis Mayaki

Footnotes

The Beauty of Christmas is not in the presents, but in His presence.

Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” -C.S. Lewis

“So God throws open the door of this world—and enters as a baby. As the most vulnerable imaginable. Because He wants unimaginable intimacy with you. -Ann Voskamp

“At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God’s own love and concern.” -Mother Teresa

 “We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and mankind. He who has faith knows this truly; let him rejoice.” -Pope Paul VI

“And when the Lord Jesus has become your peace, remember, there is another thing: good will towards men. Do not try to keep Christmas without good will towards men.” -Charles Spurgeon

“Peace with God, peace with others, and peace in your own heart.” -Rick Warren

“Any one thinking of the Holy Child as born in December would mean by it exactly what we mean by it; that Christ is not merely a summer sun of the prosperous but a winter fire for the unfortunate.” -G.K. Chesterton

“All the Christmas presents in the world are worth nothing without the presence of Christ.” -David Jeremiah

“Faith is salted and peppered through everything at Christmas. And I love at least one night by the Christmas tree to sing and feel the quiet holiness of that time that’s set apart to celebrate love, friendship, and God’s gift of the Christ child.” -Amy Grant

“Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.” -Corrie Ten Boom

“I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world.” -Norman Vincent Peale

“Best of all, Christmas means a spirit of love, a time when the love of God and the love of our fellow men should prevail over all hatred and bitterness, a time when our thoughts and deeds and the spirit of our lives manifest the presence of God.” -George F. McDougall

 “The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.” -J.I. Packer

“Jesus was God and man in one person, that God and man might be happy together again.” -George Whitefield

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” -Norman Vincent Peale

“You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father’s face and tell him you have received his Christmas gift.” -John R. Rice

“The only people who soul can truly magnify the Lord are…people who acknowledge their lowly estate and are overwhelmed by the condescension of the magnificent God.” -John Piper

“Into this world, this demented inn in which there is absolutely no room for him at all, Christ comes uninvited.” -Thomas Merton

“Christmas is joy, religious joy, an inner joy of light and peace.” -Pope Francis

 “The great challenge left to us is to cut through all the glitz and glam of the season that has grown increasingly secular and commercial, and be reminded of the beauty of the One who is Christmas.” -Bill Crowder

“The very purpose of Christ’s coming into the world was that he might offer up his life as a sacrifice for the sins of men. He came to die. This is the heart of Christmas.” -Rev. Billy Graham

  • “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14
  • “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6
  • “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” – Isaiah 11:1
  • “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” – Zechariah 9:9
  • “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” – Micah 5:2
  • “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” – Matthew 1:21
  • “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” – Matthew 1:23
  • “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” – Luke 2:10
  •  “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” – Matthew 2:10
  • “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” – Matthew 2:11
  • “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.” – Luke 1:30-31
  • “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:11
  • “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:12
  • “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God.” – Luke 2:13
  • “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” – Luke 2:14
  •  “And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:16
  • “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16
  • “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” – John 1:5-11
  • “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14
  • “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
  • “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” – Luke 1:35
  • “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” – Acts 5:31