Christmas Novena
MEDITATION
The
mystery of our salvation is to be honoured during the Christmas Season, but not as
something that happened two thousand years ago - rather as something present. While the act itself of Christ's birth and
manifestation is past, its effects are present. The
hidden reality in this mystery is Christ and His saving action. He is present in the mystery of
Christmas-Epiphany, constantly interceding for us and communicating Himself in holy
symbols.
After
the time of waiting in Advent, we enjoy a fuller realization of Christ's presence among
us. We should meditate on and celebrate the
Christmas mystery as happening now to us and embrace its spiritual effects with an open
heart. In the Word made flesh, we see that
God is no stranger to the human condition; in the Infant born in a stable to simple
working people, we come to understand that God Who is infinitely great is also one of us.
Christmas
celebrates the Father's gift to us: the revelation of His loving presence. This knowledge has been given to us through
Israel and the prophets and supremely through Christ His Son. It must continue to be made manifest through
Christ, living in us.
Christmas
is not just a commemoration of our Lord's birth, but the celebration of the great
"Emmanuel" (God-is-with-us) mystery. God
wants to share our human condition. At
Christmas, Christians celebrate the dawn of God's light shining upon man, who goes through
a valley of darkness.
The
four Christmas Masses, the east of the Holy Family, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God,
the Epiphany (Manifestation) of the Lord and His Baptism, show us how God revealed Himself
in the Lord Jesus, in Whom He is really "Emmanuel - God with us." In Jesus we see our God made visible and so are
caught up in love of the God we cannot see.
THE
WORD OF GOD
"When
peaceful stillness compassed everything and the night in its swift course was half spent,
Your all-powerful Word from heaven's royal throne bounded, a fierce warrior into the
doomed land." (Wis 18:4-15)
"Though
He was in the form of God, He did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. Rather, He emptied Himself and took the form of a
slave, being born in the likeness of men. (Phil
2:6-7)
"While
they were there the days of Mary's confinement were completed. She gave birth to her first-born Son and wrapped
Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room in the place
where travellers lodged." (Lk 2:6-7)
NOVENA
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, You made Christmas
night radiant with the splendor of Jesus Christ our light.
I welcome Him as Lord, the true light of the world. Bring me to the joy of His heavenly kingdom.
We
are filled with the new light by the coming of Your Word among us. May the light of faith shine in my words and
actions.
Lord
God, I praise You for creating man, and still more for restoring Him in Christ. Your Son shares our weakness: may I share His
glory. Make me faithful to Your Word, that I
may bring Your life to others. He made me
Your child. May He welcome me into His
Kingdom.
God
of power and life, glory of all who believe in You, fill the world with Your splendour and
show the nations the light of Your truth. May
the simple beauty of Jesus’ birth summon us always to love what is most deeply human
and to see Your Word made flesh reflected in those whose lives we touch.
Father,
in the wonder of the Incarnation Your eternal Word has brought to the eyes of faith a new
and radiant vision of Your glory. In Him we
see You, our God, made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see.
At
Christmas You fill our hearts with joy as we recognize in Christ the revelation of your
love. No eye can see His glory as our God,
yet now He is seen as one like us. Christ is
Your Son before all ages, yet now He is born in time.
He has come to lift up all things to Himself, to restore unity to creation,
and to lead mankind from exile into Your heavenly Kingdom.
At Christmas in Jesus a new light
has dawned upon the world: God has become one with man, and man has become one again with
God. Your eternal Word has taken upon Himself
your weakness, giving our mortal nature immortal value.
So marvellous is this oneness between You, our God, and man, that in Christ
man restores to man the gift of everlasting life.
For
the love of Jesus, Your Divine Son, become Man for us, I beg of You, grant me rich graces
during this joyful season of Christmas. I ask
especially for this favour: (Mention your
request).
In honour of the birth of Jesus,
grant what I ask if it be your holy Will. Amen.
PRAYER TO JESUS, GOD MADE MAN
Jesus, Son of the glorious Virgin
Mary and only Son of the living God, I adore You and acknowledge You as my God, the only
true God, one and infinitely perfect. You
have made out of nothing all things that are outside of You, and You preserve and govern
them with infinite wisdom, sovereign goodness, and supreme power.
I
beg of You, by the mysteries that were fulfilled in Your sacred Humanity, to cleanse me in
Your Blood from all my past sins. Pour forth
abundantly upon me Your Holy Spirit, together with His grace, His virtues, and His gifts. Make me believe in You, hope in You, love You, and
labour to merit the possession of You
through each of my actions. Give Yourself to
me someday in the brightness of Your glory, in the company of Your Blessed Mother, Saint
Joseph and all Your Saints. Amen.
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