readoldthings

Mea Culpa

For the next week or so, these posts are going to be a bit late. I hope my readers will forgive me-- I've been making rather merry for the last few days, as Bob Cratchett said to Scrooge to excuse his tardiness. Eventually this will all be compiled into a book, or, rather, into several books, and then who will know that it wasn't written on time? In any case, Christmas.

Christmas Day

Gaudete, Christus est natus!

Today is Christmas Day. Today the fast ends; today our hope is fulfilled. Christ is born-- born once, in Bethlehem; born again, on this day; born for all time, in our hearts.

As Advent is a mirror of the entire earthly pilgrimage-- a penitential sojourn through a dark land, but one lit by hope-- so Christmas is an icon of heaven itself.

Today should, above all, be a day of joy. Let work be minimized. In most cases, there should be no fasting at all from meat or drink. Only in the case of addiction should fasting be rigorously followed-- whether from alcohol or technology. (In my own case, it's a day to not use the internet at all, and to avoid all news and politics).

Christmas Practice and Meditation

Unless you come form a non-Christian culture or background, you probably have your practices covered for today. Prayer and meditation are as necessary today as any day, but I personally like to make Christmas Eve the day for my longer Christmas meditation, leaving Christmas Day for celebration.

One thing I would like to remind everyone is that Christmas is more than a single day. It's 12 days! The tree doesn't come down on the 26th, and your celebrations shouldn't end that day either.

A Christmas Meditation Practice might look like the following:

1. Open in the usual form, and be as deliberate as possible. Make the sign of the cross slowly and reverently, and use it to form a sphere of protection around you. Then pray the Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, and Glory Be.

2. Holy Water and Incense are appropriate now, if you use them. You might consider using an evergreen incense such as cedar or juniper, both of which are very powerful spiritual cleansers, at this time.

3. Invoke the Holy Spirit by the usual means.

4. Enter into meditation by first relaxing your muscles and then spending a few minutes in rhythmic breathing.

5. The heart of the meditation. Visualize a manger filled with animals-- either picture a structure of the sort one often sees in nativity scenes, but I like to picture a cave, such as one sees in older iconography. A couple is there; an older man watching over a younger woman, and the latter is about to give birth. It is, for a moment, an unpleasant scene-- imagine the woman's labor pangs; smell the animals and their excreta; feel the irritation and rejection Joseph must have felt at being turned away from the inn. The animals bray, the woman screams; it is a scene of chaos--

And then, all is still.

The woman holds the child in her arms. From his brow, light shines forth. His foster-father-- how honored is he, to be chosen as the guardian of the Word Incarnate and of the Spouse of the Holy Ghost!-- falls to his knees. The animals themselves kneel. Do you know the tradition that the animals are able to speak at midnight on Christmas Day? Hear them-- They know who has been born here, the Redeemer of the world; they speak, and they worship their Creator. Outside, shepherds gather, led by a host of angels. Hear their song.

Hold onto the image for as long as you like. Enter into it, feel it, let it live in your heart.

6. Slowly release the image, and return to your breath for a time.

7. Offer a prayer-- something extemporaneous and suitable to you.

8. Recite the words of St. John's Gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

9. Close with the Sign of the Cross.

If you want, you can repeat this meditation throughout the Christmas season.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

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