The day before, we had spent seven hours in the minivan together, retrieving our two college students and their heaping bags of laundry. Instead of practicing what we preach and using the road trip for some good Level 2 (Person & Relationships) deepening of our communion—through presence, conversation and listening—we took turns grinding through our lists…Christmas purchases, loose ends at work, our son’s college application checklist, unanswered texts and emails, travel plans.
My identity crisis reminded me of a priest’s words in a recent homily. He recounted an “existential crisis” he had while braving the area’s largest mall on a peak Christmas shopping day. Now, with just one week to go, it may feel like the die is cast. If we’ve “forgotten who we are” in the bustle, it may seem like it’s too late to reclaim our identity or find our way out of the “existential crisis”…that all we can do at this point is white-knuckle it. Yeah, no. There is still time.
“The urgency of Advent longing increases as Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the great Morning Star, Jesus Christ the Lord, comes almost within sight,” we read in the Magnificat daily prayer yesterday. The words were precisely what we needed to hear! “Let that urgency drown out the mounting urgency of commercial messages this week,” the reflection continued.
Amen. We still have time to choose which urgency will define the week ahead: The authentic urgency of Advent longing—or the false urgency of commercial messages. We still have time to choose prayer, Adoration, scripture, silence, and confession. Don’t beat yourself up if your mind and heart are lost in an anxious haze. But don’t stay there. We’re not called to the monastic life, but amid the many needs of our families in these busy days, we can set a tone of Advent longing.
The last thing any of us needs is a new list, so here is a prayer we invite you to pray in the sacred days ahead:
Give me the grace to repent, to prepare my heart in truth.
Grant me new courage, new zeal, to stay the course to David’s City.
Protect me from every distraction that seeks to waylay.
Cover me in your mercy, your tenderness, and your love.
Give me the grace to renounce the spirits of perfection, of despair, of grasping.
Renew my family in your loving kindness.
Heal us, have mercy on us, reveal our own hearts to us.
Take from me every misplaced longing, every idol.
Teach me how to wait, to anticipate.
Take from me my desire for haste, for comfort, for perfection.
In the arrival of my family to Bethlehem, grant us peace.
In the stable of my distraction, prepare a place for your newborn Son.
In the manger of my selfishness, prepare a place for my Savior.
In the Bethlehem of my heart, prepare a place for the Infant.
Come, Lord Jesus. I desire only you.
> In “Leave Nazareth and Take Your Family to Bethlehem,” we invite families to leave Nazareth’s comforts and set out to Bethlehem with the Holy Family.
> In “When Advent Is Short” (Arlington Catholic Herald), Elizabeth Foss writes, “Why does Christmas feel like the pursuit of perfect presents? This wait isn’t really about looking around corners for magical moments when the gentle snow falls on exquisitely wrapped gifts and everyone has two mittens that match and no one’s nose runs. It’s about making room in your heart for your God, so that he overcomes you with himself.”
> In “The Name of Jesus, ‘Yahweh Saves,’ Truly Says It All,” Fr. Jeffrey Kirby (Crux News) writes, “God has revealed himself as a divine family. He dwells as a community of persons…the interior life of the Christian is directed and shaped in such a way that the Trinity is at its center. The prayer of the Christian is offered to the Father in the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
> Need a Christmas Gift for your Loved One? Until December 31st, our book Heaven in Your Home Letters & Guide: Inspiration & Tools for Building a Trinity House is on sale for $19.99! With tools and stories, the book can be a wonderful Christmas gift for friends and family seeking to grow in holiness and happiness within their families.
> We can’t wait to join Katie McGrady on her Catholic Show on SiriusXM 129 live this Thursday, Dec. 19, at 3:40 PM EST. Hope you have time to listen in!
>For all new monthly donors of $50 or more, we’ll send a signed copy of our book, Heaven in Your Home Letters & Guide.
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