Blessed Epiphany 2015

Nativity Cor Jesu Chapel St. Emma Monastery.

Blessed Epiphany!!!

This is still one of my favorite images, the figures in our nativity allows for the gifts to be taken out of the hands of the kings thus allowing them to hold the baby Jesus. 

God Bless your New Year!!

Readying Our Hearts to Receive Jesus - Part X

Christ Child

Worship the child in the manger with special love.  All that you do, do in the name of Jesus.  Give Him your heart.  While at work, pray also again and again to God.

Ask God for his grace and pray with devotion the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus. 

Readying Our Hearts to Receive Jesus - Part IX

Mother of God - Purity

Honor in a special manner this Advent the most Blessed Virgin Mary.  Sacrifice all your activities to the service of her.  Carefully make sure the stable to Bethlehem is entirely pure, or whether somehow dust and spider webs dirty the manger.  For example, you must search your conscience search to see that your heart does not hang on temporal or earthly things. 

Ask God for the grace of purity of heart and pray the Litany of Loreto. 

Readying Our Hearts to Receive Jesus - Part VIII

St. Joseph

Awake in your heart a pious devotion after the example of Saint Joseph.  Remember with what love he served the Christ Child, with what constant love he guarded the holy Virgin, with constant holiness he administered his house and fulfilled all duties, with what deep devotion he worshiped God and revered his holy, virginal bride.  Follow him and imitate him with God’s grace.

Pray with devotion the Litany of St.  Joseph.

Readying Our Hearts to Receive Jesus - Part VII

The Angel

Take care that the angel, the peace of the heart, is in the stable at Bethlehem.   When you perceive in your heart an aversion to a person or feel displeasure, for example hatred or envy, resentful self-love, or whatever it would be, you must remove it from your heart.  You must forgive all from your heart.

Ask God for His grace, peace, and peacefulness and pray with devotion five Our Fathers and Hail Marys. 



Readying Our Hearts to Receive Jeus - Part VI

Shepherd

Good will is the shepherd by the manger of your heart.  Sacrifice and offer to God your will with all its inclinations and wishes.  Offer God gladly and willingly all your freedom.  Unite your will entirely with the will of God and desire nothing that does not please Him. 

Ask God for His grace and conform your will to the will of God and reverently pray five Our Fathers and Hail Marys.

Readying Our Hearts to Receive Jesus - Part V

Little Donkey

Retrieve the donkey in the stable of Bethlehem through faithful service of God.  Carry readily and diligently the load which the Lord enjoins on you.  Be constant in the observation of the regulations, as well as in the fulfillment of your duties.  Offer everything that you do, as well as your sufferings and joys to the Lord, so that your whole life will be a service to God.

Ask God for his grace and pray the Litany of the Saints.

Readying Our Hearts to Receive Jesus - Part IV

Little Ox

Retain reverent silence in the stable at Bethlehem.  You must remember that we must give an account over all our words.  A Church Father says:  "Often I have regrets over words I have spoken; never, however, over having been silent." 

Ask God for the grace of silence and pray with devotion three Our Fathers and the Salve Regina. 

Readying Our Hearts to Receive Jesus - Part III

Lamb

Today, o God-loving soul, you must also be the lamb at the manger, this is meekness of the heart,  never flying into a rage, never being cross,  never retaliates, lovingly apologizes, forgives all and rather suffers the largest wrongs than commits the smallest ones.

Ask God for his grace and help and pray with devotion three Our Fathers and the Salve Regina. 

Readying Our Hearts to Receive Jesus - Part II

Fence

Place your fence around the manger through preservation of your senses.  Hold yourself back, speak less and consider how Mary has never spoken a useless word, as well as how chaste she was.  Offer your silence and speech with hers to God. 

Ask God for his grace and help and pray with devotion three Hail Marys and the Memore.

Readying Our Hearts to Receive Jesus - Part I

Today's reading from the beginning of St. Mark's Gospel gives a familiar image:  St. John the Baptist by the Jordan River baptizing the people as they confessed their sins.  He was helping to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. 

Over the next days, we invite you to join in an older custom that we have begun anew several years ago:  the spiritual nativity.  Each Advent, each Sister draws a slip from a basket and then uses that "lense" so to speak as a means to help prepare her heart.  We would like to share some of these with you, so that you, may have a thought each day to think and pray about in order to ready your heart for Christ in a special way this Christmas:

Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem

The Stable

Awaken a loving desire in your heart for the Christ Child and prepare with all care the stable through the practice of the humility.  Offer all that you have, in particular offer up your self will and self love to the Lord.  Prune your pride and your vanity. 

Ask God for His grace and His help and pray with devotion three Our Fathers and the Salve Regina.