Father Romeo Salinas is Vocations Director
for the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
So, we await his coming. Before we can greet him, however, we must ready the manger in our hearts. As Mary prepared the manger in the stable, we must prepare for Little Jesus with open and loving hearts filled with the deep devotion of Mary for her tiny baby about to be born; filled with a spirit of acceptance and obedience, as was Mary’s heart; and filled with humility, simplicity, love and great sacrifice, as was Mary’s heart.
We prepare for the coming of Jesus during Advent, which is a miniature Lent. As we spend weeks preparing for the passion and death of our Lord during Lent, we also have the privilege of preparing for weeks for the coming of our Lord at his birth, Christmas. In both instances, we take time to prepare our hearts in gratitude for Christ’s love for us and for the graces both events in his life bestow on us.
We must “‘prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths’ (Mk 1:3).” We must have a conversion of heart: a deep repentance for sin, a confession of sin and a promise to God to amend our lives for the better with the help of his grace. Penance services (confessions) are held in parishes as we progress through Advent. Humility and obedience go hand in hand with penance.
We must willingly reform our ways. We must take a stand for God and live our lives with humility and goodness, which are necessary for true repentance of sin and for bringing us closer to Jesus, our savior. We must “reject godless ways and worldly desires (Ti 2:12).” This is the way we prepare ourselves for Little Jesus, the King of Peace. Our entire lives must constitute a preparation for our meeting with Christ. We must, “Be watchful! Be alert (Mk 13: 33).”
“We desire to be able to welcome Little Jesus at Christmas time with a heart so pure, so immaculate, so warm with love for one another,” St. Teresa of Calcutta once said. And St. Padre Pio tells us “one thing only is necessary to be close to Jesus—that we find a way to be with Jesus.” We get close to Jesus through prayer, and this closeness gives us the desire for eternity.
We receive greater grace, because Little Jesus, newly arrived from heaven, blesses us with graces. He blesses us from the manger and from his mother’s arms as she holds him close and kisses his tiny face and hands. We must comprehend that without the child Jesus, there is no life, no future, no heaven.
Mary leads us to Jesus. Her “yes” to God is the way we should live our daily lives, saying yes to God and to Mary our mother. We need her as our teacher in all we do. She is the perfect disciple, the light of God; and, the holy family is a model for our own families.
God asks all of us to consecrate our daily lives and work to him. Through Scripture, through prayer, through confession and repentance for sin, through humility and charity we prepare our hearts to receive the love, graces and peace our Little Jesus brings.
As we discern, seek and live out our Christian vocation to the priesthood, religious life, single life and married life, every one of us has to have a heart open to Jesus. We need to seek him. Pray to get closer to God and to receive a desire for eternity. We want to “believe through him (John 1:7).” We want to be a light to others; carry peace to others; witness Christ to others.
We journey with Christ through his life in Scripture. We journey throughout our own lives to reach heaven. Heavenly Father, grant us the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine (Invocations to the Sacred Heart).