Pause and ponder the miracle we’re celebrating.
There is a ceaseless drone of noise in our modern culture. Smartphones buzz, notifications ping, and advertisements play automatically, adding to a cacophony that at times seems to drown out our very thoughts. Streaming, scrolling, and sometimes merely stepping out our door provides us with an endless loop of content. Though present all year long, the clatter seems to hit a new decibel in December.
I invite you to ponder a deeper, more beautiful reality occurring during all this dizzying sound: For every tech-based buzz and every sound vibration, there is an endless choir of angels singing hymns of praise. We need only tune our ears. And just as the worldly noise seems elevated this time of year, the angels and saints raise their voices, too.
Now, in this Christmas Octave, we are invited to join in their eternal song as we venerate the Christ Child and draw close to the Holy Family. One beautiful way to do this is to make space for silence during our days. And as we do, we allow ourselves to hear the heavenly host singing all around us.
If you find it challenging to cultivate silence, you’re not alone! Here are a few things that help me. I hope you find these suggestions helpful, too.
Start with a simple prayer.
Though we might put down our digital devices, we are often met with a noisy street, a neighbor’s landscaping endeavors, or a chorus of little voices.
But we can find quiet for the length of a single prayer to unite with the divine. God, in his sweet generosity, gives us precious moments to unite our hearts to him.
If you feel overwhelmed and can’t find five minutes of silence, start today with a simple prayer:
Jesus, I lift my heart to you.
I join the angels who sing your praise.
Set a goal for every morning between now and the new year: that you will dedicate a moment for silent praise. Starting small, you might just find yourself able and eager to offer more prayerful moments.
Employ your guardian angel.
Over the years, I’ve taken to praying more frequently to my guardian angel. The more I learn about these beautiful, divine creatures, the more peaceful and inspired I feel. In your morning prayer, invite your guardian angel to help you find and cultivate more holy silence this week.
Share with your angel that you desire to adore the Baby Jesus. These were the very creatures that God saw fit to deliver his most important messages. Think how willing and worthy they must be to help us worship more fully in our daily lives, especially during this Christmas season!
Take heart: You’re never too late!
As humans, we only know an existence tethered to time. Something I find so comforting is that God is not bound by the clock as we are (though that is hard to fully conceptualize). Somewhere amidst the noise of the season, we’re invited to pause and ponder the miracle we’re celebrating. The best time is the present moment. If the devotional or prayer plan you had every intention of sticking to in Advent is left undone, it’s not too late. When the Lord sees a heart longing to love him better, he rejoices.
Don’t rush back into routines (and leave up the festive décor at least until Epiphany). You won’t regret taking time for moments of silent reflection, fully entering into Christmastide.
After all, Christ is the heart of these sacred days, as Pope Leo reminded us in mid-December.
“The authentic approach of the heart,” he said, “does not consist in possessing the goods of this world, but in achieving what can fill it completely; namely, the love of God, or rather, God who is Love.”
Yes, we need ample time to reflect on Love.
“Mother Church is a good psychologist; she understands human nature perfectly. When a feast comes, the soul is amazed and not quite prepared to think profoundly upon its mystery; but on the following days the mind finds it easy to consider the mystery from all sides, sympathetically and deeply …” as explained in The Church’s Year of Grace, Vol. I.
Keep coming to the Christmas crib … ready for contemplation.
This article was originally published by NCRegister.
