St Vincent de Paul Spiritual Reflection December 2016

December 2016

1 Peter 2 : 5-9

...and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."

To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," and "A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall"; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Vincentian Reflection

And here we are, another Christmastime, another gathering to end the calendar year. Yet it’s not quite Christmas time is it, not quite the time for red and green.

As you well know, we’re still in the season of Advent. The liturgical color for Advent is purple, just like Lent—as both are seasons that prepare us for great feast days. Advent (like Lent) includes an element of penance in the sense of preparing, quieting and disciplining our hearts for the full joy of Christmas.

Preparing. The fact you’re here tonight is evidence of preparation. What to bring, what to wear, where to go – all of these are forms of preparation. So what do we prepare for The Lord?

As we heard in tonight’s reading, we’re all members of the

“…chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, [as] God’s own people…

Yet I’ve heard “it is not our job to bring people to Jesus.  Instead, it is our job to bring The Christ Jesus to people”.

So I say, let us celebrate tonight and share the love easily found in all gathered here in His name. I suggest doing so is an appropriate way to strengthen and prepare ourselves with the overriding task at hand – to bring Christ Jesus to all we know, meet, and serve.

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