On the third week of Advent we light
the candle of Joy
Day 1 – Sunday
“As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” (Luke 1:44, NIV)
Today’s Thought: The joy that every parent feels at the birth of their baby is merely a shadow of the great and abiding joy that entered the world through the newborn Son of God.
Today’s Prayer: Most Holy Father, like Elizabeth’s unborn child, the nearness of Your Son fills me with joy. Christmas is almost here, and already my heart stirs with the anticipation of seeing that tiny baby placed in the manger in my nativity set. As the time for celebrating Jesus’s birth approaches, I don’t want to become distracted by shopping and cooking and decorations. Help me to keep my focus on that empty manger, soon to be filled with the Source of all joy. Though that manger is symbolically empty now, fill me with the joy of Your constant presence in my life. Amen.
Copyright © 2018 by Virginia Smith. All rights reserved.