Happy Advent! Are you preparing your heart to be a manger for Christ's birth?

In a recent email from Real Life Catholic, Chris Stefanik wrote about this being a time for Jesus to be born into our hearts. And saying, “This Christmas, we hope and pray your heart is a manger for His birth.” Now that’s an Advent I want to be a part of. Being a Christian, this is what we are to do. We are to receive Jesus completely into our hearts.

My first thought is the Eucharist. There we receive Jesus in a very vulnerable way. Not that we are vulnerable, but He is. Much like He was in the manger on that first Christmas. There He is in our hands. Desiring to become one with us. Completely one with us. Not just of one mind, but of one body and soul.

Receiving Jesus completely means we are completely united with love. Completely united with the all-powerful God that loved us into existence. But if we are to be completely united with God, we need to remove all that divides us from Him. We need to root out sin in our lives. It is no easy task. The payoff is HUGE! And God promises to help us in this seemingly impossible task.

Advent is a time of preparation. We prepare for Christ’s coming. We prepare like we are preparing for the first Christmas. We prepare like His second coming is near. All of that has to do with preparing for Christ to come into our Hearts. This Advent, let’s ask Jesus to come into our hearts.

Mary, you were the first to receive Jesus into your heart and your womb. Prepare us to receive Jesus into our hearts that He may find a proper dwelling place.