Walking with Jesus on Christmas 2023

Mother Teresa once said:

“I used to pray that God would feed the hungry, or do this or that, but now I pray that He will guide me to do whatever I’m supposed to do, what I can do. I used to pray for answers, but now I’m praying for strength. I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us and we change things.”

I found this prayer on a card from Pax Christi many years ago:

A Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Come Spirit of God grant us
the power to be gentle,
the Strength to be forgiving,
the patience to be understanding,
the endurance to accept the consequences
of holding on to what is right.

Come Spirit of God help us to
put our trust in the power of good
to overcome evil,
the power of love to overcome hatred.

Come Spirit of God enlighten us
with the vision to see and the faith to believe in
a world free from violence,
a new world where fear will no longer lead us to
commit injustices,
nor selfishness cause us to bring suffering
to others.

Come Spirit of wisdom and love,
Source of all good teach us your truth and
guide our actions in your way of peace.
Amen.

— Adapted from Prayers for Peacemakers, published by Kevin Mayhew, England

Prayer

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance
wherever I go,
Flood my soul with Your Spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly,
that my life may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through me, and be so in me
that every soul I come in contact with
may feel Your presence in my soul.
Let them look up, and see no longer me, but only Jesus!
Stay with me and then I will begin to shine as You shine,
So to shine as to be a light to others.
The light, O Jesus will be all from You;
none of it will be mine.
It will be You, shining on others through me.
Let me thus praise You in the way which You love best,
by shining on those around me.
Let me preach You without preaching,
not by words by my example,
by the catching force,
the sympathetic influence of what I do,
the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You.
Amen.

— Inspired by John Henry Cardinal Newman’s own prayer,
prayed by Mother Teresa daily after Holy Communion.

Sacred Space 2024 states:

“Christmas celebrates the Word made flesh. We share in the divinity of Him who shared our humanity. It is a new beginning, re-echoing the creation story in Genesis. The Word was the light of all people. In the darkness of our lives and world we turn to Jesus, the light, and pray that He may help us to overcome the darkness and give witness to His presence.”

My prayers and Mass intentions will be offered for you and your loved ones this holy season.

God Bless, Fr. Pete Creed