O God, Who see how Your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord's Nativity, enable us, we pray, to attain the joys of so great a salvation and to celebrate them always with solemn worship and glad rejoicing. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
see how Your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord's nativity – Are we eagerly, faithfully awaiting Christmas? Are we looking forward to celebrating our Lord's birth, to inviting Him to be born into our hearts and souls in a new, more intense, more intimate way? Are we preparing our hearts to receive Him? Do we remember that our Lord is watching us, not waiting with a checklist to jot down everything we have done, right or wrong, but rather waiting eagerly to come to us and to shower us with His love?
enable us...to attain the joys of so great a salvation – What joy we should experience when we reflect on what God has done for us and what He has in store for those who remain in His grace! When we live in His grace, when God dwells within our souls, we can start living eternal life and its joy right now. We can feel within us that peaceful contentment, that twinge of pure delight, that comes from intimacy with God. This is the joy that no one can take away from us if we decide to hold fast to it and remain in our Lord. It is the joy that will find its fulfillment in Heaven.
to celebrate them always – This prayer reminds us to celebrate our joys, to celebrate God's gift of salvation. These days, the word “celebrate” is often associated with parties or excitement about good news, but the original meaning of the word as it developed in English in the mid-fifteenth century is “to perform publicly with appropriate rites” as in (and especially) the celebration of the Mass. The English word comes from the Latin participle celebratus, “kept solemn” or “much-frequented,” and its verb celebrare, “to assemble to honor,” “to publish,” or “to sing praises of.” To celebrate our joys, then, means to express them solemnly and to sing the praises of the One Who has given them to us and to do so especially in the Mass.
with solemn worship and glad rejoicing – Indeed, this prayer captures the deeper definition of “celebrate” by telling us how to celebrate. We worship God, and we rejoice with great gladness in recognition of Who He is and what He has done for us. Solemnity and rejoicing don't seem to fit well together, but solemnity, seriousness, or formality certainly does not exclude joy. In fact, sometimes such solemnity, a solemnity that arises from wonder and awe in the presence of God, can lead to even greater joy, for we realize, even in our limited way, how truly amazing, how truly mighty, how truly perfect He is.
No comments:
Post a Comment