In this meditation we will take the eyes of a child, the ears of a child, the thoughts of a child and visualize what is happening as you and your shepherd parents are visiting the lady with the baby?
1. Scene One - out on the hills around Bethlehem, spending the evening with your parents watching the sheep - What do you hear them talking about? What are the smells of the evening? What do you see and suddenly. What do you hear? How are you startled by what you see and hear? Did it frighten you?
2. Scene Two - on the way to the birth place - What are your parents talking about? How excited are they? How excited are you, not knowing just what is happening?
3. Scene Three - As you approach the birthplace what do you see? Are you warm or cold, are you afraid of the large animals in the birthplace? What do you think of the lady - the man - the baby - the surroundings?
4. Scene Four - same as scene three, but try to check your personal thoughts as a child on what is going on. Look at the baby - is He different? What about the man and woman? Would you like to spend more time there than your parents would allow? How did you feel when it was time to go home?
5. Scene Five - back with the sheep - Did you have any questions about the family you just visited? What about the baby? Did you have any difficulty going to sleep that evening, or were you wide awake with the events you just participated in? Was there anything special about the baby that you noticed?
6. Now that you know as a adult Catholic what really took place, can you approach the child Jesus at Christmas with the heart of a child and become childlike in the presence of Christ the Infant?
HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS IN A CHILD LIKE WAY AND FALL IN LOVE WITH THE INFANT IN THE MANGER !
©2009 Fr. Louis Schlangen