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December 24, 2004
No Room For Them In The Inn: Preparing A Place For Jesus
Christmas Eve is usually a day full of anticipation and excitement, especially for children. Unfortunately, their excitement is often centered around presents and Santa Claus. Not that the giving of presents is a bad thing, nor that Santa Claus can't add to the magic of the day, they just cannot be what Christmas is all about.
Thinking back to that first Christmas we find St. Joseph and Mary coming to Bethlehem looking for a place to stay.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:4-7
As the most important event in the history of the human race prepared to unfold, St. Joseph and Mary were unable to find a "place" for the coming Messiah. Thus our Lord was born in a stable, in poverty. There were no gifts given that day, other than Almighty God giving Himself to us.
The question we must ask ourselves is do we prepare a "place" for Jesus, not just at Christmas, but each day of the year. Do we stay alert with anticipation for the gift of the Messiah? Christmas is that day on which we commerate our Lord's birth into this world, but, at the same time, it is also the day on which we are reminded of Jesus' desire to be born in our hearts. So let us not become so preoccupied with the "Christmas spirit and traditions" that we forget to celebrate the "heart of Christmas," namely the coming of Christ in time and in each of our lives.
Merry Christmas! From all of us here at Living Catholicism. May the Holy Family coninue to bless and guide you and your family. Amen.
Posted by HolyFamily at December 24, 2004 8:22 AM
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Comments
Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas - your site has been a source of insight and knowledge to me over the past weeks, and I appreciate how much you are doing.
All the very best for the New Year, as well!
Posted by: Rebecca at December 24, 2004 12:56 PM
