Dec 19 Tue
O Antiphons: – Root of Jesse
Come, Flower of Jesse's stem, sign of God's love for all his people: save us without delay!
Jesus Christ, descendant of Jesse and David, son of Mary, is about to arrive.
God makes himself present to us in Jesus' sacred Humanity. In Jesus we can contemplate God: ‘No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.’
St. Josemaría says, “My children, once again I advise you to do what I have always preached: love Christ's Humanity. …Consider frequently the spirit of prayer animating Jesus' life among us. He teaches us that all our works –great or small– should be preceded, accompanied and followed by prayer."
“And from Christ's Humanity we shall go to the Father, to his almighty power and providence, and to the fruit of the Cross, which is the Holy Spirit. And we will feel the need to immerse ourselves in this Love, so as to find true Life."
Christian life consists, above all, in knowing and loving Jesus Christ. In him we find the grace needed to avoid sin, together with light to draw ever closer to God. Jesus ‘took on the likeness of sinful flesh, to condemn sin and rid the flesh of sin. He wanted to invite man to take on his likeness ... endowing man with power to receive the Father.’
St. Josemaría said: “I would like you to be able to close your eyes and see Christ's life as in a film, and see yourselves as actors in that film, in company with the Apostles and the holy women, closer to Jesus than even John was. If not, it won't do."
“Consider what is most beautiful and most noble on earth, …And the world, and the other worlds that shine in the night: the whole universe. Well, this, along with all the follies of the heart satisfied, is worth nothing, is nothing and less than nothing compared with this God of mine and yours. Infinite treasure, pearl of great price, humbled, become a slave, reduced to the form of a servant in the stable where he chose to be born, in Joseph's workshop, in his Passion and in his ignominious death... and in the madness of love that is the blessed Eucharist."
The way to get to know and love Christ is to talk to him. “As you do your prayer on the words of the Gospel you will contemplate Christ's reactions … to the needy, to the rich... Try never to remain passive. Put yourself into the Gospel scenes like someone really there: with your passions, with my littleness and yours, and also with all the good things we possess. …Follow Christ, stepping in his footprints, and you will have his life, his strength, his longing to redeem."
We rely on Mary's motherly help: Show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Teach us to talk to him, to get really close to him and to love him with all our heart. Help us to make our prayer a dialogue between friends, a conversation full of faith and love.
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