Living with Christ Morning Prayer

Living with Christ Morning Prayer
January 1, 2014
Mary, the Holy Mother of God


The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God...

Lord Jesus,
I have never heard angels singing.
I have never seen them in the sky
giving me a message from God.
I have never seen the glory of the Lord
shine around me.

Perhaps if I had,
I would be more exuberant-
like these shepherds
who followed the angel's message
to the stable and then went off
glorifying and praising God.

Did Mary laugh with joy
to hear what the shepherds said-
the way Sarah laughed when she heard
the angel say she was to have a child?

In the stable scenes
I've seen on Christmas cards,
the joy is almost
always so quiet and serene.
I don't think I've ever seen
Mary and Joseph laughing
with happiness and relief
over the baby in the manger
or praising God in pure, ecstatic joy.

But surely they did, Lord!
How could they not with such wonderful
things happening to them and around them?
And surely rough shepherds were not the kind
to express their joy quietly and serenely.

Lord Jesus, I do not expect to see angels,
but help me feel and express more boldly
all the joy that the good news of your birth
brings to me and to the whole world.
Amen.

For a prayer for today from St. Philip Neri, see page 189 in the January issue of Living with Christ.