How do we let Jesus be born in us?
4th Sunday of Advent
“Lord, make us turn to you ; let us see your face and we shall be saved.”Ps. 80
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But to all who received Him, He gave the power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”John 1:10-12
Do you want to be among those who receive Him through faith? Among those who become children of God? Or among those who closed the door, preventing Christ from entering and offering them His salvation?
There were many inns, perhaps clean and luxurious, but they were closed to the One who gave them everything— being, possessions, and existence. They were closed to the greatest treasure because they overvalued and clung idolatrously to lesser riches, to the fleeting things of this world, which blinded them from seeing the true wealth.
The stable was not the most dignified place; it was dirty and smelled bad, but it was open. That is all He needs to enter—that we be open through faith, that we seek Him so we may find Him. It does not matter if you are not worthy or perfect. Like the stable, there is sin. That is why Jesus came—for sinners, to save and to heal. Just let Him in.
Faith is the door through which we access the true treasure. He does not come with noise or arrogance, nor in a majestic way.
He is not born to kings or in palaces. He comes humbly, born into a humble family, without fame, without titles, without a place, subject to the circumstances of His time, which led Him to be born in a stable among animals. The wrapping is not what matters—it is the content.
Our current world seems to value the wrapping, the appearance, the superficial, more than what truly matters the essential, which is invisible to the eyes of the body but not to the eyes of the soul, the eyes of faith.
How will Jesus find us this Christmas? Will He find our hearts open, prepared, in conversion, in gratitude to the One who gives us everything, in a desire to respond to Him with our love? Are we ready to leave sin behind and embrace freedom? Willing to move from selfishness to love, from the temporary to the eternal, from the material to the spiritual? Are we ready to reconciliation, to practice charity with those in need, to be rich in good works? Only then can we receive Him as Mary did and let Him be born in our lives.
We nourish ourselves with His Word, but it is in practicing it that it gives us growth and life. It is when the nourishment reaches its goal, like when food nourishes your cells and gives you strength or builds muscle—this is when Christ is born in our lives.
Come, Lord, enter my life. My heart is not a luxury hotel; it is still like a stable. But I hope that if You enter, it will become entirely pleasing to You. It is Yours; I am Yours. Enter my life and let me serve as an instrument of Your salvation.
Weekly Readings
Sunday: Mi 5:1-4a/Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 (4)/ Heb 10:5-10/Lk 1:39-45
Monday: Mal 3:1-4, 23-24/Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14/Lk 1:57-66
Tuesday:
Morning: 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16/Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29/Lk 1:67-79
Wednesday:
Vigil: Is 62:1-5/Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29 (2a)/Acts 13:16-17, 22-25/Mt 1:1-25 or 1:18-25
Night: Is 9:1-6/Ps 96:1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13 (Lk 2:11)/Ti 2:11-14/Lk 2:1-14
Dawn: Is 62:11-12/Ps 97:1, 6, 11-12/T1 3:4-7/Lk 2:15-20
Day: Is 52:7-10/Heb 1:1-6/Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6 (3c)/Jn 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14
Thursday: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59/Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 and 8ab, 16bc and 17/Mt 10:17-22
Friday: 1 Jn 1:1-4/Ps 97: 1-2, 5-6, 11-12/Jn 20:1a, 2-8
Saturday: 1 Jn 1:5-2:2/Ps 124:2-3, 4-5, 7b-8/Mt 2:13-18
Next Sunday: 1 Sm 1:20-22, 24-28/Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10 (see 5a)/1 Jn 3:1-2, 21-24/Lk 2:41-52
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 4th Sunday of Advent
Monday: St. John of Kanty, Priest
Tuesday: Christmas Eve
Wednesday: The Nativity of the Lord
Thursday: St. Stephen, First Martyr
Friday: St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
Saturday: The Holy Innocents, martyrs
Next Sunday: Feast of the Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
