Advent with St. John Henry Newman
Reflections by Fr. Jason Smith, LC
Each Christmas we do exactly what the shepherds did: we look at a newborn laid on straw and make an act of faith. Tiny, gurgling, maybe crying—His little fingers hardly big enough to wrap around our pinky. True God, true baby.
St. John Henry Newman writes: “God revealed Himself visibly to Jacob, to Job, to Moses… to us He reveals Himself not visibly, but more wonderfully and truly; not without the cooperation of our own will, but upon our faith… [that] Christ may dwell in [our] hearts by faith, and that the eyes of [our] understanding may be enlightened.”
If by grace we were whisked back to Bethlehem, we’d be struck by how ordinary it all is—especially Jesus. No halo. Less hair than our nativity figurine. He does what babies do. And here’s the shock: God has immersed Himself fully in what it means to be an infant. The miracle is not only that God became man, but that he fashioned us in such a way that he could become one of us.
Advent readies our eyes for this kind of seeing. Faith doesn’t only look beyond the ordinary, it discovers the glory inside it.
Let us pray, as the shepherds did, kneeling before mystery: “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Reflect: What part of your life feels too small, too messy, or too ordinary to offer to God? In these final days of Advent, how might you let him enter into that space and dwell there?
In this Advent series, Fr. Jason Smith draws from his personal experiences and St. John Henry Newman’s own Advent sermons, connecting themes like reverence, awe, and intimately encountering Christ in the simplicity and stillness of ordinary life. Pray with us on The Regnum Christi App, sign up to have each day’s reflection delivered to your inbox every morning, or follow the RC Spirituality Center on Instagram and Facebook.
Ordained in 2006, Fr. Jason has served as a Legionary priest throughout the US, primarily in New York and Michigan. His newest role has called him south, as the superior of the Houston community of the Legionaries of Christ.
