Nov
28
2016
By Anonymous (not verified)
At this time of the year there is a lot of hustle and bustle around us. The television is constantly showing Christmas movies, and our mailboxes are stuffed with ads for holiday sales. Plans are being made for parties, and holiday music can be heard almost everywhere we go. For Christians, though, we are in one of the most solemn times of the year. We are in a time of waiting and preparing to remember the birth of our Lord Jesus.
Perhaps you find it a little difficult to quiet your minds and hearts during this busy time of the year. Father Thaddaeus Lancton, MIC, at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, wants to share with you how St. Faustina can help us prepare for Christmas:
"The Lord appeared to St. Faustina several times emphasizing the need for simplicity, humility, and child-like trust. That's something we can practice in Advent, by trying to open our hearts in simplicity and trust to Jesus. Throughout the day when we have many concerns, anxieties, and things to do, just remember the Lord Jesus, who is about to be born. Remember that it should be for Him that we do everything that we do. The gifts that we are to offer Him are not so much things, but ourselves."
At the beginning of Advent 1936, Our Lady appeared to St. Faustina and taught her how to prepare for Christmas by striving for silence and humility, so that Jesus, who continuously dwelled in her heart, may be able to rest.
Father Thaddaeus says, "Silence is not so much being quiet and not saying anything. Silence is more the ability to let go of external noise to begin to listen to the internal noise of our own desires, our own fears, frustrations, and turn those over to the Lord to be in a conversation with Him. One need not contrast busyness on the outside with total silence on the inside, but rather in the midst of our hustle and bustle, the question is whether we turn to the Lord in the midst of it, through short prayers, by just conversing with the Lord. In that way, we can foster silence even in the midst of external noise. The key in the Christmas season - or in any season - is to be able to have a place where the Lord Jesus can be born, where He can come into our hearts."
Saint Faustina put this into practice. While she expected to be in the convent for Advent, a place of silence, she was sent away to a hospital for medical treatment. Throughout Advent she was surrounded by strangers who chattered all day, and the radio was often on in the ward. She let go of the external noise, though, and conversed with the Lord Jesus in her heart.
The Lord rewarded her for trying to keep this interior recollection. To her surprise, one of her religious sisters came to visit her on Christmas Eve and brought Faustina back to the convent to celebrate Christmas with her community.
At the midnight Mass, God's presence pierced Faustina's soul. The Blessed Virgin Mary, with the Infant Jesus and St. Joseph, appeared to her. Faustina had prepared her heart well during Advent, so it was a ready dwelling place for the Lord. This was confirmed by the Blessed Mother placing her Infant Son in Faustina's arms to hold.
Father Thaddaeus says, "The lesson of Christmas is that Jesus is born into a manger. Our hearts may not exactly be a royal palace for the Lord, but that's not what He needs. He doesn't want a royal palace. He simply wants our hearts, as wounded, as weak, as poor as they are. The only question is whether we open up those hearts, which are poor and weak, to the Lord. Just like the people at the inns: Some people turned Him away because they didn't 'have space.' There was one that did have space, even though it wasn't the best. Nonetheless, the Lord stayed there. And that's all we have to do for the Lord. We may not have the best of spaces, we may not have the best soul to offer the Lord, but we just say 'yes,' and let Him come in. He will rest there and we can adore Him."
As we prepare for Christmas this year, let us make our hearts quiet places of recollection. Let us adore Him constantly in our hearts, in all of our duties, in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. May we, like St. Faustina, receive Jesus anew in our hearts on Christmas morning.
Perhaps you find it a little difficult to quiet your minds and hearts during this busy time of the year. Father Thaddaeus Lancton, MIC, at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, wants to share with you how St. Faustina can help us prepare for Christmas:
"The Lord appeared to St. Faustina several times emphasizing the need for simplicity, humility, and child-like trust. That's something we can practice in Advent, by trying to open our hearts in simplicity and trust to Jesus. Throughout the day when we have many concerns, anxieties, and things to do, just remember the Lord Jesus, who is about to be born. Remember that it should be for Him that we do everything that we do. The gifts that we are to offer Him are not so much things, but ourselves."
At the beginning of Advent 1936, Our Lady appeared to St. Faustina and taught her how to prepare for Christmas by striving for silence and humility, so that Jesus, who continuously dwelled in her heart, may be able to rest.
Father Thaddaeus says, "Silence is not so much being quiet and not saying anything. Silence is more the ability to let go of external noise to begin to listen to the internal noise of our own desires, our own fears, frustrations, and turn those over to the Lord to be in a conversation with Him. One need not contrast busyness on the outside with total silence on the inside, but rather in the midst of our hustle and bustle, the question is whether we turn to the Lord in the midst of it, through short prayers, by just conversing with the Lord. In that way, we can foster silence even in the midst of external noise. The key in the Christmas season - or in any season - is to be able to have a place where the Lord Jesus can be born, where He can come into our hearts."
Saint Faustina put this into practice. While she expected to be in the convent for Advent, a place of silence, she was sent away to a hospital for medical treatment. Throughout Advent she was surrounded by strangers who chattered all day, and the radio was often on in the ward. She let go of the external noise, though, and conversed with the Lord Jesus in her heart.
The Lord rewarded her for trying to keep this interior recollection. To her surprise, one of her religious sisters came to visit her on Christmas Eve and brought Faustina back to the convent to celebrate Christmas with her community.
At the midnight Mass, God's presence pierced Faustina's soul. The Blessed Virgin Mary, with the Infant Jesus and St. Joseph, appeared to her. Faustina had prepared her heart well during Advent, so it was a ready dwelling place for the Lord. This was confirmed by the Blessed Mother placing her Infant Son in Faustina's arms to hold.
Father Thaddaeus says, "The lesson of Christmas is that Jesus is born into a manger. Our hearts may not exactly be a royal palace for the Lord, but that's not what He needs. He doesn't want a royal palace. He simply wants our hearts, as wounded, as weak, as poor as they are. The only question is whether we open up those hearts, which are poor and weak, to the Lord. Just like the people at the inns: Some people turned Him away because they didn't 'have space.' There was one that did have space, even though it wasn't the best. Nonetheless, the Lord stayed there. And that's all we have to do for the Lord. We may not have the best of spaces, we may not have the best soul to offer the Lord, but we just say 'yes,' and let Him come in. He will rest there and we can adore Him."
As we prepare for Christmas this year, let us make our hearts quiet places of recollection. Let us adore Him constantly in our hearts, in all of our duties, in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. May we, like St. Faustina, receive Jesus anew in our hearts on Christmas morning.
REBK
