Please join us Monday 12/14/20 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm MT (8:30 pm to 10:00 pm ET)

Zoom Link: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/4537185699?pwd=emRVOEZwMTY1eGN1bzYrU2VldWhiZz09

Meeting ID: 4537185699

Opening Prayer:

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. 

Amen.

To See God Face to Face

CS Lewis’ last novel: “Till We Have Faces” is a modern retelling of a classic Greek myth. Lewis had been fascinated by the story of Cupid and Psyche for many years.  Cupid is a god who falls in love with Psyche, a mere mortal.  He takes her as his bride and situates her in a palace full of wealth and treasure but only comes to her at night, warning her she must not look at him.

One night her curiosity gets the best of her, and she peeks at him while he is sleeping.  He is so stunningly beautiful that she accidentally lets a drop of hot oil from her lamp fall on his arm.  He awakens and flees in anger. What follows is an intense and complicated drama which ultimately ends with Cupid bringing Psyche to Olympus and making her immortal so they can live together happily ever after. 

Whether you are a believer or an unbeliever, a saint approaching the heights of holiness, or a sinner struggling to crawl out of a pit, the desire to see God is a primordial one.  It is found in everyone, even the skeptical and the young.  (A child approached a holy priest once and complained he couldn’t see Jesus in the Eucharist.  The Priest smiled, looked at him with fatherly affection and said: “That’s ok.  Some people can.”)

During Advent, we cry with the prophet Isaiah…”Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,” and, we might add, “ so we can see you!”  Christmas is the answer to our desire to “see” God in time.

God helps us to see as much as we are capable of in our present frame. He comes to us, hiding the overwhelming light of His glory. He comes to us as a baby willing to grow up with us so that He can one day lead us out of the limiting shell we inhabit here on earth and take us to the full freedom of our existence, a divinized and immortal life where we can live with Him as He truly is. 

Imagine Mary contemplating Jesus within her and wondering what He, the most beautiful baby ever conceived, will look like. Imagine his sweet little hands and perfect toes, His divine smile, His piercingly beautiful eyes.  

Before the Christmas mystery, we whisper, with Lewis: “I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?”

May this Christmas find us enraptured by the light radiating from the face of the tiny Babe, whose breathless beauty and infinite love transforms us and makes us His own.

1. Trusting the Lord in what St. John of the Cross calls the dark night of faith can be a real challenge in the spiritual life.  What is your experience of moving with God through things you don’t understand?

2. Sin always narrows our vision. The more purified we are the more we see with our “inner” senses. (Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.) Lack of confidence and trust in God also hide Him from our “sight.” God reveals Himself more fully to the those who believe and those who have confidence in His great love. Where do you find yourself?

3. If you could sit down with Jesus face to face right now, and you could ask Him anything, what would you want to know at this time in your life?  

4. What is your Christmas wish/prayer for this year and how is it different from what you would have prayed a year ago?