The Incarnate God Resting In The Manger Of Our Lives

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God's Action

The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Eternal Word, the Divine Logos, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man,...

O Sapientia (O Wisdom) Isaiah 11:2-3
O Adonai (O Lord or Ruler) 11:4-5 and 33:22
O Radix (O Root of Jesse) 11:1
O Clavis (O Key of David) 22:22
O Oriens (O Radiant Dawn) 9:1
O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations) 2:4
O Emmanuel (O God with Us) 7:14

... was born for our salvation.

The Lord God made His home among men.  The Word-Made-Flesh is received in the Holy Eucharist. He makes His home in us.

We, the baptized, are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Jesus lives in us.  That being the case, how do we keep our household, the household of our lives, hospitable for Jesus?

The Lord invites us into communion with Him and provides the grace - His very life, His Presence - to facilitate movement into a deepening communion with Him.

The Mass

The Liturgy of the Word.  The Word of God purifies our minds and prepares us to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, to enter into communion with Jesus.  The word of God informs the whole person.  Might we think of the Liturgy of the Word as the Liturgy of Purgation and Illumination?

The Liturgy of the Eucharist.  We offer ourselves to God. God takes the gifts of bread and wine, symbols of our very selves, and transforms them into His Body and Blood.  The Holy Ghost makes Jesus Present.  We are sustained by the Body and Blood of Christ, the very life of God.  Might we think of the Liturgy of the Eucharist as the Liturgy of Union?

Eucharistic Fellowship for Evangelization.  After Mass, we speak and act in communion with the faithful in Christ Jesus who have received the Body and Blood of Christ.  We share in the received wisdom and have embraced Jesus so to be made cooperators with God for the salvation of souls.  Might we think of fellowship as something more than coffee and biscuits after Mass but rather as the beginning of a procession into the world to announce the Good News?  Fellowship after Mass - sometimes referred to in Ordinariate circles as the "eighth sacrament" - is the staging ground for a renewal to venture out to point souls to Christ.

Consider for a moment that, as a baptized Catholic, you are wed to Jesus in His life, death and resurrection. He is living in you, in your life, this very moment.  When we commit sins great and small, imagine a house or room that is made inhospitable by our actions or inaction.  Do you invite others into a house filled with garbage, rotten food or pornography? Does perversion, corruption, wrath or another deadly sin occupy your mind and heart, the home of your thoughts and desires? Or, is your house in good order, clean and welcoming?

  1. When you speak or think in an uncharitable manner, quietly speak to Jesus, "Lord, I'm sorry."  It may be after a moment of "road rage", or out of disproportionate frustration or impatience with a coworker's behaviour that provokes your need for mercy.
  2. Keep in mind the following phrase, "Lord Jesus be merciful to me a sinner." Go to confession.
  3. Avoid near occasions of sin. In a moment of temptation, simply and without hesitation turn to Jesus and speak with Him as your Lord and Saviour. "Jesus, I love you. I believe in You. Help my unbelief."
  4. Take up approved spiritual exercises to bolster your resilience and ability to resist temptation and sin. The Rosary, the Daily Office, keep the Friday fast (abstain from meat), embrace the Ember and Rogation Days, pray any one of the beautiful novenas. Practice the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy.
  5. And of course - go to Mass!  There we encounter the gift of salvation Jesus continually offers us and those most in need of God's love and mercy.  We learn gratitude for the many undeserved blessings we receive.  Pray for a mind open to God's blessings. Let the joy of God permeate your thoughts and actions.
Jesus is both a welcome guest and a host, and that welcoming others is a way to welcome God into our lives.
  1. Welcoming the stranger.  Jesus came to his disciples as a stranger, a guest, and a host.  Consider St Matthew 25:31-40, which says, "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me".
  2. Welcoming God.  God is both the host and the guest, and that we can welcome God by opening our hearts to the people and situations we welcome into our lives.
  3. Practicing Christian hospitality helps us overcome divisions.
  4. Letting your welcome be led by the Holy Spirit. We should let our welcome be led by the Holy Spirit, and not by our circumstances, ego, or the other person's response.
Made temples through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist, we are temples among men.  We bear Jesus to the nations, to our families, to friends and strangers.  We do not remain as tents pitched high on a mountain (St Matthew 17:1-9; St Mark 9:2–13; St Luke 9:28–36).  Jesus commands us to descend from the hilltop to bear Him and the Good News to all.  In a state of grace, anointed by His Spirit, we bear His truth (gold), goodness (frankincense) and beauty (myrrh) to those in most need of God's mercy and redemption.

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