God is looking upon us today as we pray, and sees our preparations for Christmas. The question is: are we preparing faithfully? Yes, there are preparations to be made for parties and presents, etc., but are our hearts being prepared to meet Christ in the manger, in the Eucharist, or in the Gospel on Christmas night? That all, in fact, is the “reason for the season,” and no matter how many parties or presents we have, if these realities are not at the heart of our preparations, we are not preparing faithfully.

Thankfully, we still have time to continue our preparations. The season of Advent still has ten more days, and God can make great use of such days. Perhaps that is why the Church prays today for joy and rejoicing on Gaudete Sunday. Half way through our penitential season, we are reminding of what is to come—of Who is to come. This reminder—after the many secular attempts to force us into stores to spend money, and amidst the many familiar stressors of this time—is quite welcome, and can serve to hone our focus on what we are doing right now. We are preparing to meet the God Who comes to meet us.

We are encouraged by this collect today, then, to return to the Lord right now in Advent, and not wait until it’s too late to make ready. This is so that we can give Him the ultimate gift of our hearts at Christmas, a gift which certainly takes some time to prepare and cannot be given hastily or without thought.

Truly, it is not about the presents we receive, but about the Presence He gives us. In return, we are expected to give love for love, and to return our entire selves to Him. This is when we will experience the true joyful rejoicing of the saints, for it is only in Him that we will know and be known, that we will always be faithful, and that we will find ourselves able to celebrate the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, not as Walmart and Target would have us do, but as the angels would rejoice to see.

Reflection Questions

• How is my heart at this midway point of Advent? Joyful, anxious, tired?
• Are parties and presents more on my mind than Christ as Christmas approaches?
• Am I more concerned with getting and receiving gifts than with giving of myself in love to God and others?

The Cristeros Rule of Life

As Cristeros, we dedicate ourselves to a a life of true devotion to Jesus through Mary, particularly in the form of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for Us.

We begin our days with a Morning Offering dedicating our day:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

At a high or low point during the day, we pray to the Holy Spirit, handing over our accomplishments or sufferings:

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful, and enkindle in us the fire of thy love, send forth thy spirit and we shall be created, and though shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.

At some point each day, on our own or with our family or friends, we pray to our Mother Mary in the form of Guadalupe, giving all that we have and are to Jesus through Mary by reciting one of the following:

• A daily Rosary, focusing on the Fruits of the Mystery.
• The Hail Holy Queen

Every night before we go to sleep, by ourselves or with our wife, we pray a nightly examine using the ACTS formula:

• Adoration: We adore you and Christ and we bless You, because by Your Holy Cross, You have redeemed the world.
• Contrition: Ask God for forgiveness for all the times you have sinned or fallen short that day,
• Thanksgiving: Thank God for all the gifts he has given you that day, including the grace for those moments you have acted virtuously and towards the Good.
• Supplication: We ask God for his blessings that night and the next day, either with particular requests or in general, and end with a prayer dedicating ourselves to Him through Our Lady of Guadalupe: All that we have and all that we are, we give to your hands Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Our Lady of Gudalupe, Pray For us.  

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