Now for Little Christmas...the Feast of the 3 Kings! (con'd)

"Blessing before a Christmas Stable" by BY Father Peter John Cameron, O.P. (con'd...)

(Magnificat Advent Companion, December 3 - December 25, 2017, pp. 46-48)

"No one , whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below except by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a new-born child." (CCC563)

Lord Jesus, as I kneel before your manger in Adoration, let my first Christmas word be: thank you. THANK YOU, Gift of the Father, for coming to save me from my sins...Without you, I do not know even how to be human. The characteristics of your human body express the divine Person of God's Son. And in that wondrous expression, Lord, you reveal me to myself. Thank you for that saving revelation in your sacred humanity. As the Christmas Liturgy proclaims, "For through him the holy exchange that restores our life has shone forth today in splendor." Thank you for coming as one like myself to save me from myself...You come as a baby because babies are irresistible and adorable. You come as a baby because you want our first impression of God incarnate to be that of one who does not judge. How I long to be united with you in every way. May I never be attracted to the allurements and charms of the world. May I love you always, at every moment, with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. May the tenderness, the dependency, and the mercy that you reveal in you infancy become the hallmarks of my life...