On the fifth day of Christmas, what does God want to do in our lives? How will our lives be different after the Christmas season than before it? The Lord certainly wants us to grow in faith. He wants us to end the Christmas season and begin the new year with a greater faith than ever before.
The Lord calls us to see like Simeon and Anna. When Jesus was presented in the Temple, hundreds of people had the chance to see the Baby Jesus. Only Simeon and Anna, however, saw Him with the eyes of faith. By faith, they recognized that Jesus was not only a baby but the "revealing Light to the Gentiles" (Lk 2:32) and the Glory of God's people.
As Christmas continues, Jesus wants us to believe much more deeply that:
Despite our agnostic culture of death, receive the miracle of great faith through prayer (Jude 20) and God's Word (Rm 10:17). Receive the ultimate Christmas gift — great and growing faith.
| PRAYER: | "Now, Master, You can dismiss Your servant in peace; You have fulfilled Your word" (Lk 2:29). |
| PROMISE: | "On second thought, the commandment that I write you is new." –1 Jn 2:8 |
| PRAISE: | St. Thomas Becket was impelled by love (2 Cor 5:14) to endure exile and eventually death in defense of the truth. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College