Monday, January 5
Christmas Weekday

O star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.

The Magi are famous for the gifts they brought—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—which communicated their understanding of the power this new king would bear. Their gold was a tribute to his royalty and an invitation for him to reign even from his home in Bethlehem. The fragrance of frankincense was associated with worship—they wanted to be part of a people who recognized the divine life of this king. With their myrrh—a burial perfume—they acknowledge a king who has come to share everything with his people, even their death.

The most impressive thing about these gifts is the preparation they involved—the kings anticipated whom they would find and were ready to recognize his significance with offerings that honored the lordship of Jesus.

Prayer for Morning
Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth, help me work toward establishing your kingdom today—both within myself and in my community. Jesus, our King, help me to follow your way.

Ponder Today
How can I make a gift of my life to God today in response to the mystery of his reign in me?

Prayer for Evening
Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth, you share in every aspect of my humanity—even death—as a way to conquer everything that might stand in the way of God’s love for me. Deepen my faith in your love for me. Jesus, my King, reign in my heart.

January 4
Epiphany Sunday

We three kings of Orient are; bearing gifts we traverse afar, field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star.

We can imagine that the Magi of Matthew’s gospel were truth-seekers. T hey studied the heavens because they were curious about the world and our place in it. Their study led them to follow a strange sign in the sky, a phenomenon that they didn’t fully understand that led them beyond the familiar. Instead of dismissing it because it was inconvenient, they pursued it, yearning to know more.

These wise men seem to know only that this star they followed was pointing to a new king. They weren’t seeking him in order to curry favor or develop an alliance—they just wanted to understand and establish themselves in right relationship to him. They came prepared to honor this king and probably couldn’t have imagined that he was a newborn living in lowly surroundings, and yet they followed where Truth seemed to lead.

Prayer for Morning
God of Truth, all of creation bears your fingerprints. Deepen my curiosity to perceive you in new ways, and grant me the courage to follow where you are leading. Mighty One, I seek you today.

Ponder Today
What inconvenient signs might be leading you to a deeper truth about your life?

Prayer for Evening
God of Truth, help me rest in you who are the deepest truth of my life. Mighty One, attune my heart to yours.

Saturday, January 3
Christmas Weekday

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem! Come, and behold him, born the King of angels!

We began Advent more than a month ago by praying with “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Here in our Christmas celebration, we continue to sing “O Come”—but this time as a jubilant invitation to all the faithful to come adore our newborn King and behold our very God who has committed himself to us in an unexpected and strange way.
We are pursued by a God of surprises, who is unpredictable in his methods but constant in his love. Having encountered the wonderful ways he comes into the most secret corners of our experience, we can’t help but proclaim this good news: come and behold the King of angels!

Prayer for Morning
Lord Jesus, King of angels, wealthy wise men and poor shepherds alike came to give you homage at your birth. I join them and all your people who greet you this happy morning to give you glory. Emmanuel, I want to behold you today.

Ponder Today
Where has God hidden himself in the circumstances of my life?

Prayer for Evening
Lord Jesus, King of angels, you are the image of the invisible God born in a stable among the livestock. Come into the parts of my life that feel unprepared, ordinary, and dark and save me from thinking you want only the best of me. Emmanuel, I present my whole self to you.

Friday, January 2
Christmas Weekday

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be all glory giv’n! Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!

This spirited hymn begs to be belted out. The world marches on to New Year’s resolutions, but we don’t give up our Christmas feasting so easily. We stand ready to greet the Lord this happy morning, joyful and triumphant in our acknowledgment of this great gift.

The key to keeping up our Christmas spirit is to stay grounded in our awareness of our need for a savior. Anyone with a conscience should not have to reflect very long to conclude that though we bear God’s image, we are incomplete and broken. But we’ve been given glad tidings of the “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing”—the One who reveals that nothing can stand in the way of God’s desire for communion with us. It is a day to be joyful and triumphant indeed.

Prayer for Morning
Jesus my brother, I celebrate your coming among us—a surprising and undeserved gift that began in Bethlehem and continues to this day. Help me sustain my joy and gratitude for the gift of your presence with me in this moment, here and now. Christ, my Lord, let me sing in exultation.

Ponder Today
How might I continue my Christmas festivity today?

Prayer for Evening
Jesus my brother, there is nowhere I can go and nothing I can do to lessen your love for me. You reign over heaven and earth—reign in me as well. Christ, my Lord, I adore you.

January 1
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

There is no rose of such virtue as is the rose that bare Jesu; alleluia.

For in this rose contained was heaven and earth in little space; res miranda [a thing to be wondered at].

This hymn we pray with again today ponders Mary as a rose who contains heaven and earth in the person of Jesus. A thing to be wondered at, indeed, that the One who was present at creation consented to be carried by her. How can this be? Think of a dewdrop in the folds of a rose—a close examination reveals the whole world refracted within the liquid sphere.

We, too, are called to such virtue: to imitate Mary as a rose catching the dewfall of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is ready to be carried by us as well, to take on life within us as we bear him to people in darkness waiting to see God’s face.

Prayer for Morning
Holy Mary, Mother of God, your faithfulness allowed us to see God’s face in Jesus, your Son. Pray for me, that I may grow in faith and so share him with others in need. Mary, our mother, help me to carry Jesus today.

Ponder Today
What opportunity might I seize today to cultivate virtue?

Prayer for Evening
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Jesus contained himself within the little space of your womb so that God could contain us in his love. Help me create space for your Son to also dwell in me. Mary, our mother, lead me with your prayerfulness.

Wednesday, December 31

What Child Is This?
Author: W. Chatterton Dix
What Child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?

Refrain:
This, this is Christ, the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
haste, haste to bring Him laud, the Babe, the Son of Mary!

Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here the silent Word is pleading.

Refrain
So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh, come, peasant, king to own Him.
The King of kings salvation brings; let loving hearts enthrone Him.

Refrain

Tuesday, December 30
Christmas Weekday

The angels sang the shepherds to: gloria in excelsis Deo: gaudeamus [Glory to God in the highest: let us rejoice]. Now leave we all this worldly mirth and follow we this joyful birth; transeamus [let us pass over].

It happened in the Garden of Eden, and it happens in every one of us—sin spoils our relationship with God. But our brokenness is not our destiny. This hope is why, in the words of our hymn for today, “leave we all this worldly mirth and follow we this joyful birth.”

The music here resonates as boldly as the words. Spend a few moments listening to the Notre Dame Folk Choir rendition of this hymn, “Rosa Mystica” (at the link below), and note the dynamics with which we sing transeamus. Three different voices intone it, each at a lower note that stretches upward until the fourth voice enters above them all. It’s a nice portrayal of how we each long for union with God, stretching toward heaven until the Word descends to join us and we pass over together.
Virtue,” visit https://www.avemariapress.com/let-heaven-and-nature-sing-music.

Prayer for Morning
Triune God, the mystery of your love took shape in our humanity in the baby Jesus. Help me follow him into union with you. I sing with the angels and shepherds: glory to God in the highest!

Ponder Today
What “worldly mirth” am I being called to leave behind for a greater joy?

Prayer for Evening
Triune God, three persons in one who create, redeem, and sanctify me, help me to follow the way of our Savior—fill me with your Spirit, and create me anew. Loving God, increase my joy and awe at the magnitude of your love.

Monday, December 29
Christmas Weekday

Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding? Good Christian, fear: for sinners here the silent Word is pleading.

We know Jesus as the Word—God’s self-communication to us. Jesus speaks to us through his words and actions as they are recorded in the gospels and in the ongoing friendship through which he is present to our everyday living. In our Christmas feast, however, we recall his infancy, when he was unable to say or do anything. At his coming—the moment when heaven and earth met—the only thing the Son of God was able to communicate was his need and dependence and vulnerability, and the only people he could communicate with were two parents far from home.

What a strange thing for God to say to us with his Word! The One who created us has confined himself to the smallest, quietest part of our experience, where he fully inhabits it. Nothing we experience is foreign to him—he is the Word who pleads for us through his silence.

Prayer for Morning
Jesus, Word of the Father, you reveal that God is love. Conform my heart to yours that I may enter your life by giving my own away. Word of Love, speak to me today.

Ponder Today
What word can I silently share with others through my actions today?

Prayer for Evening
Jesus, Word of the Father, you came to bring us salvation. Spur my heart with urgent praise that I may enthrone you there as my King. Word of Love, help me hear your voice.

Sunday, December 28
Feast of the Holy Family

What Child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?

Our hymn for today and tomorrow, “What Child Is This,” reminds us that Christ, our King, comes to us as a child sleeping on Mary’s lap. Imagine her in a quiet moment of rest, gazing upon him as an infant. With her, we can see his slow breathing, his eyes twitching below the lids, and his tiny mouth drawing whispers of breath. As she adjusts her legs, picture the way his back arches into a spontaneous stretch before he settles back into her familiar warmth.

Imagine Joseph watching the two of them, wondering what kind of mystery the three of them have entered, and even more enthralled by the way a new kind of love has taken shape before him. Where will this love lead the new family?

Prayer for Morning
Mary, Mother of God, you hold me with the same tender care with which you held Jesus. As my mother in faith, help me to grow in hope and love through your Son. Blessed Mary, pray for me today.

Ponder Today
In what ways might my family be leading me to more clearly see and rely on God’s love?

Prayer for Evening
Joseph, Guardian of Mary and Jesus, you wondered at the mystery of love as it grew before you in family life. Help me to also ponder with reverent gratitude the ways love takes shape in my life. Blessed Joseph, pray for me.

Saturday, December 27

Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings. Mild he lays his glory by, born that we no more may die, born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth.

Christ comes to us enfleshed in the circumstances of our daily lives, just as God came in the infant Jesus to Mary and Joseph. They were faithful people who worshiped in synagogues and the Temple, but the bulk of their role in bearing and raising God’s Son took place in the context of washing clothes and fixing wobbly tables and negotiating the opinions of in-laws and neighbors. This means that Jesus also comes to us in the context of our own ordinary, daily routines and challenges.

Yes, Jesus came to “raise us from the earth” and to “give us second birth” in communion with the Triune God. With our Christmas feast, we celebrate the mystery that we don’t have to go searching for this new life—he comes to us.

Prayer for Morning
Sun of Righteousness, splendor of the Father, you bring me light and life. Help me to recognize your glory in the parts of my life that feel most dreary and dull. Prince of Peace, raise me to new life in you.

Ponder Today
In what area of my life do I most desire to experience new life?

Prayer for Evening
Sun of Righteousness, in you I need not fear death and nothingness—I don’t even have to fear my own brokenness and cycles of sin. Prince of Peace, make me whole in you.