Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Most of the secular world marks the end of the Christmas season on December 26th or perhaps through New Year’s Day. But the Church continues to celebrate this season through mid-January. We have made it through the hustle and bustle of the holidays and now are given time, like Mary, to keep “all these things” and reflect on them in our hearts.
We take time to abide in the Word made flesh who dwells among us. In our first reading today, John reminds us to let what we have “heard from the beginning remain in us. ” By doing so, we “will remain in the Son and in the Father.” This “abiding” or “remaining” is not a passive waiting but rather an act of our will to stay in one place long enough to watch, listen, and look for the presence of God among us.
And what better way to practice this abiding than in Eucharistic adoration? Our “prayer of contemplation and adoration of Christ present in the Eucharist… prolongs the grace of the Mystery celebrated, intensifying our union with Christ so as to become with him and like him bread broken for a new world.” (Rule of Life for Associates #8.)
Can I stay in one place long enough today to become Christ for others?
Let Us Pray:
Jesus, I believe that you are truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Fill me with your grace, wisdom, and courage to do your will in all things. My Lord and my God, draw me close to you, nearer than ever before. Amen.
