Relevant Radio
December 2022
As we approach the final stretch of Advent and prepare to celebrate Christmas, I want to put our attention on the real meaning of Christmas based on the Love of Christ!
Recently, I have done two Advent Missions for women during this liturgical Season, and both revolved around the Love of Christ and how Jesus desires to set our hearts and homes on fire with His perfect love! He wants us not to focus on the darkness around us and, in many ways, seem darker over recent years, but rather to rejoice over the light of Christmas.
So how do we live out our faith amid merriment and the hustle and bustle of life?
Top 10 Ideas to Keep Christ in Christmas:
Look to the Church to guide us. Follow the path by living the Season at hand, from Advent to Christmas Tidings. When we step in line with mother Church, we can see the gift of allowing seasons of penance, feasting, and celebrating to leave us closer to Christ.
Slow Down Your Pace: A simple thing we can do as Catholics is spend time: Looking upon the manger scene with love and adoration. How often do we carry about in our lives preparing for Christmas and spend very little time reflecting and receiving from the King?
I love to read my Bible near the glow of the Christmas tree each morning as I prepare for Christmas.
Keep Your Eyes Open: We can easily have secular Christmas creep into our homes so that our music, customs, and traditions don’t even include Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas. We must discern what works best for our family and keep our spiritual radar up.
**I have a Manger scene the children can play with, a lovely one I cherish. I also have Children’s books I pull out each year to read stories to the children to help strengthen their faith.
His love, not ours: As a busy Catholic mom working full-time in ministry work, I love to think of this simple saying, Jesus came to show us love so that we can receive his Love and share it with others.
Look for Jesus: When we focus on receiving the Love of Christ and His graces, it is easier to keep Christ in the Christmas season, We know that Jesus is the reason for the Season, but often Jesus is hard to find amid society and the world- so we must bring him to others.
You will never offer a perfect Pinterest Christmas! Choose what matters most- you might do Christmas cards but not get to decorate the front as you like… Remember, something will not go well- how we respond to that situation matters! What matters is not how it looks but how did Christmas feel? Was it warm, loving, or kind? Did all feel welcome?
Prepare the Family Table: Don’t forget to have a family meal where you gather with the television off. Turn off the tv and spend time together enjoying your Christmas meal.
Before the Gifts: Pray and give testimony for your Love for Christ. Before the gift-giving and traditions that often involve raindeers and Santa, let us pray our hearts to Christ.
We renew our family consecration to the Sacred Heart prayer found at www.WelcomeHIsHeart.com and even offer words of our great and genuine Love for Christ and His birth.
What do you do to ground your family during the holiday season of materialism and gift-giving?
Invite others to encounter the Love of Christ through the SacramentsL
- Reconciliation
- The Mass and the Eucharist are our Spiritual Food- the Source and Summit of our faith.
- Choose a Mass time that works best for your family. For us, Christmas Day is when we go to Mass as we celebrate the Season with a big dinner on Christmas Eve.
Give Jesus a forgiving Heart this Christmas. Is there anyone in your family you must reconcile with?
If you are looking for a way or path to grow closer to Jesus, I have to share that my book Secrets of the Sacred Heart: 12 Ways to Claim the Promises in your life unlocks the devotion to the Sacred Heart and helps Catholics encounter this love.
Jesus wants to offer us His Gospel Promises of Peace, Joy, and grace along our path to heaven. He desires for our hearts to be made new!
This Season is the most beautiful time of the year, but only if Christ is always in the center.
Our love for Christ and others will attract people back to the faith and allow us to be vessels of His Love.
