PRAYER: “O GOD, WHO GLADDEN US YEAR BY YEAR AS WE WAIT IN HOPE FOR OUR REDEMPTION, GRANT THAT, JUST AS WE JOYFULLY WELCOME YOUR ONLY BEGOTTEN SON AS OUR REDEEMER, WE MAY ALSO MERIT TO FIND HIM CONFIDENTLY WHEN HE COMES AGAIN AS OUR JUDGE. WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD, FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Is 62:1-5; Ps 88:4-5,16-17,27,29; Acts 13:16-17,22-25; Mt 1:1-25 or 1:18-25.
“REJOICE, FOR A CHILD IS BORN FOR US” (Cf. Is 9:6).
“……Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who your head is and whose body you are a member of. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom” (Saint Leo the Great).
My dear friend, tonight, our Saviour is born. The Saviour has been born to save us from sin and its wages: DEATH. The fear of death should be gone for that matter because death will be swallowed up and be destroyed by the Saviour on the Cross.
We have every course and reason to rejoice and be glad and be very happy. Sadness, therefore, should have no place in us. In fact, a sad or an unhappy believer (Christian) is a contradiction in terms.
For four Sundays, we have been preparing ourselves, waiting for this day. Since we started our four-week preparation on the First Sunday of Advent to celebrate the Nativity, scriptures urged, directed and guided us along areas in our lives we should prepare for the Saviour at his Nativity.
It will be in place to have a very fast or quick evaluation of ourselves, keeping in mind the general theme of this special season: “PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE LORD” as well as keeping in mind what scriptures urged us to do as a way of preparation for this great feast.
"Scriptures exhorted us to be vigilant and be alert at all times and pray, especially in times of difficulties and disappointments to eventually be ‘blameless in holiness’.
The prophet Isaiah suggested concrete ways for us to prepare the way for the Lord. He talked about straightening all crooked ways into highways for God. All valleys and holes should be filled up. Mountains and hills, as well as all cliffs, should be made low, and all rugged land should be made a plain. The rough country should be made a broad valley, etc., etc. These are all symbols, which apply to human life and behaviour. These apply to our sinful and wrong ways, our dishonesty, corruption and bribery, discrimination and favouritism.
These symbolisms also represent our pride, arrogance and pomposity. They represent our lack of or little faith in God, lack of or little patience, lack of generosity, love and charity. They stand for our stubbornness, our rough ways and dealings with other people. They also stand for our rough tongues and mouths, etc. etc. (Cf. Is 40:1ff).
We have also been urged by scriptures to live in peace and not in pieces and in war. That we should work for peace and endeavour to eliminate or minimise whatever is causing enmity between or among people. Again, Isaiah gave a vision of animals which have been arch-enemies, but which are now good friends, and they are now cohabiting in peace (Cf. Is 11:1ff).
The scriptures also urged us to be charitable, and share our material gifts and talents; that we should share what we have with the poor and the needy. They urged us not to cheat but that we should be content with what we have. We should not practice extortion and we should not falsely accuse anyone. We could go on and on but for want of time, you could add yours.
Usually, during this period and season of preparation and waiting for the Messiah, a lot of us concentrate on the physical preparation to the neglect of the spiritual preparation.
A lot of people think that Christmas preparation is all about getting food items ready, planning and budgeting for the drinks to buy, the clothes to make and wear that day, as well as the carnal and evil things to indulge in on Christmas day. God is not looking at appearances but at the heart or the soul. Therefore, even though the material preparations are necessary, all-important preparations should be toward the soul. Sin has managed to strip the human soul naked.
One way we could re-cloth our naked souls is through the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance. We could also repent our sins and wrongdoings, make amends and do all that the Prophet Isaiah urged us to do.
Also, sin and our evil ways have been denying the human soul of its food. Sin prevents us from receiving spiritual nourishment from the Lord through his word and the Sacraments. A lot of us are living in sin, and because of that, we are not able to receive the Lord’s spiritual food. Some of us have been so deep into sin to the extent that we no longer feel or have the sense of sin in us.
Therefore, we live in sin, not worthy of the Lord’s spiritual nourishment, and yet we receive this nourishment in sin; we receive this nourishment not in the state of grace. Let us look into these areas seriously. It is not too late to work for our salvation.
Now the question is, now that the season of preparation is over, can I proudly say in my self-assessment that I have worked on all these areas in my life and today I am worthy enough for the Saviour to come into my life and be my personal Saviour and Lord?* If I have done my best to prepare myself for this feast we celebrate today, then I have every reason to rejoice, to be glad and be happy to celebrate with others, otherwise????????????????
We should also be mindful of the Day of Judgment known as the Day of the Lord, my last day on earth. Even if I have not prepared myself adequately for the commemoration of the Nativity which we celebrate tonight and tomorrow, I still have the chance to do something about my evil and sinful ways so that this day may not be gloomy to me. *I WISH YOU MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR. Be vigilant, alert and watchful during these festive days and moments, because your enemy, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for you to devour*. God bless you.
WE MEDITATE TODAY, WEDNESDAY, ON THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES: ‘THE RESURRECTION, THE ASCENSION, THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE ASSUMPTION, AND THE CORONATION’. (WE PRAY FAITH, HOPE, LOVE OF GOD, GRACE OF A HAPPY DEATH AND TRUST IN MARY’S INTERCESSION) “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.
PRAYER: “GRANT, O LORD, WE PRAY, THAT WE MAY DRAW NEW VIGOUR FROM CELEBRATING THE NATIVITY OF YOUR ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, BY WHOSE HEAVENLY MYSTERY WE RECEIVE BOTH FOOD AND DRINK. WHO LIVES AND REIGNS FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@yahoo.
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