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THE WEEKLY DIGEST
OF REGNUM CHRISTI
DAILY MEDITATIONS

Week of December 22 -29, 2024

Sunday, December 22, 2024 -In These Days

Monday, December 23, 2024 – Newness

Tuesday, December 24, 2024 – Praise, From Father to Son

Wednesday, December 25, 2024 – Hurrying to the Mangerside

Thursday, December 26, 2024 – Seed of the Church

Friday, December 27, 2024 – Love Lends Us Wings

Saturday, December 28, 2024 – A Man to Protect the Innocent

Sunday, December 29, 2024 – Holy Families

December 22, 2024 -In These Days

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Luke 1:39-45

 

Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

 

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, what joy there must be in your heart as this journey of Advent continues. I want to pause on my Advent way, to spend these moments of prayer with you. I believe you are here and you wish to encounter me. You come out to meet me, just as your mother got up and went on her way to meet Elizabeth. Mother Mary, help me to open my heart to the Lord in these moments of prayer so that I may hear what he wishes to say to me today, too.

 

Encountering Christ:

 

  1. Those Days: Mary set out in haste in “those days.” What were those days filled with for her? How many emotions she must have held in her heart. She was newly pregnant with God’s Son, her Savior, filled with God’s life in a new way—in a way that no creature on earth had been before. Surely she thought of what to tell her good husband Joseph and her pious parents. Was she still surprised and delighted and simply awestruck every time her heart turned in dialogue to the precious babe growing inside of her? As we journey on our Advent pilgrimage, let us accompany Mary closely, asking her to intercede for us so that we experience Our Lord’s presence growing in our hearts more each day.

 

  1. Love Moves to Love: The Gospel tells us that Mary went in haste to care for her cousin. What a pure love and sincere concern characterized her heart. Perhaps she was driven by this new life of God in her, an even fuller expression of the life of grace than had already filled her. We can learn from Mary to continue giving of ourselves even when things are uncertain and our future is unclear. Like Mary, we can rejoice in the totally unexpected and providential ways God chooses to work in our lives (and invites us to work together with him).

 

  1. Be Blessed: Elizabeth called Mary blessed because God chose her to be his mother. Mary was blessed because of her selfless response to God—her fiat. Our Lord extends countless invitations to us every day, hoping for our fiat. St. Augustine’s words ring true in this light: God has created us without us, but he has not wished to redeem us without us (CCC 1847). We are truly blessed when we accept the grace God offers us and embrace his will in the circumstances of our life.

 

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, how you must have shared in Mary’s joy as she cherished those days with you in her womb—her joy became your joy, and your joy, hers. How I wish I could enter into this deep communion too, as Elizabeth and John did, and perhaps Zechariah too, as time went on. In this time of prayer, stir my heart as you did theirs, with the graces you know I most need and which you most desire to give me. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will strive to go out of myself and serve you in another person. Let me rise up to serve you, as Mary did.

 

For Further Reflection: You may wish to spend some time contemplating art depicting this beautiful encounter between Mary and Elizabeth. There are countless inspiring images that may help your prayer.

 

Beth Van de Voorde is a Regnum Christi Consecrated Woman, currently serving in pastoral ministry to families in Madrid and Valencia, Spain. When she’s not reading Ratzinger or humming along to some song or another, you may find her making her pilgrim way through Spain’s timeless history of faith, walking alongside the beautiful families and young people she’s there to serve.

December 23, 2024 - Newness

Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Luke 1:57-66

 

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”

 

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, let me enter into your heart in this time of prayer. You are good and faithful, and want to spend this time with me even more than I do with you. In fact, you so desire to be close to me that you became man and took on my flesh, became a baby for love of me to redeem me—to redeem the world. Prepare my heart for your coming and help me to enter this moment of prayer with you.

 

Encountering Christ:

 

  1. Something New: Each in their own way, Zechariah and Elizabeth spent these nine months of preparation pondering and praising God for his action in their family. Perhaps the words of Isaiah wove themselves into their thoughts, as this prophecy certainly seemed to take flesh in them: “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers” (Isa 43:18-19). Seasons of preparation—“desert times”—can be long, dry, and difficult, but for the faithful, there is always cause for hope. Unlike Elizabeth and Zechariah, we have the blessing of knowing Jesus Christ Incarnate. “My soul rests in God alone, from whom comes my salvation” (Ps 62:2).

 

  1. This Name: While Zechariah and Elizabeth’s extended family must have rejoiced at the extraordinary circumstances that surrounded the birth of this child, they did not yet understand the deep mysteries unfolding before them. Elizabeth broke with custom by insisting the baby be named John, and Zechariah’s vocal affirmation confirmed for all that God was at work. Yet, everyone present saw only an ordinary baby in his mother’s arms. John’s parents trusted in this new action of God without understanding or seeing exactly how it would evolve. May they intercede for us when we are fearful for the future and want signs from God that everything will be all right.

 

  1. Fear Versus Faith: Elizabeth and Zechariah believed that the Lord’s hand, which sustained and upheld them, would also lead them to fulfill God’s will. However, the crowd that witnessed Zechariah’s miracle were fearful and spread their fear to friends and neighbors. Fortunately, the neighbors took these eyewitness accounts to heart and believed. When the unexpected happens in our lives, do we respond in fear or in faith? What’s required from us in times of uncertainty is faith: “By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer” (CCC 143). Faith is freely given by God to each of us when we ask for it. “To live, grow, and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be ‘working through charity,’ abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church (CCC 162).

 

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, how much your heart must have rejoiced with Zechariah and Elizabeth on this day. Your plan of salvation was just beginning to be revealed. As Advent draws to a close, I am waiting with them today, and all our world is waiting for your coming. Fill my heart with your grace, that I may be ready to receive you with greater faith, hope, and love.

 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will strive to bless you for your goodness amidst the day’s perhaps busy preparations for Christmas.

 

For Further Reflection: You may wish to take a look ahead at the readings for Christmas Day and see how to incorporate them into your family’s Christmas celebration.

 

Beth Van de Voorde is a Regnum Christi Consecrated Woman, currently serving in pastoral ministry to families in Madrid and Valencia, Spain. When she’s not reading Ratzinger or humming along to some song or another, you may find her making her pilgrim way through Spain’s timeless history of faith, walking alongside the beautiful families and young people she’s there to serve.

December 24, 2024 - Praise, From Father to Son

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent Mass in the Morning

Luke 1:67-79

 

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

 

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come before you for this time of prayer to be with you. Tonight, we celebrate your birth. And how I need you to be born into my heart, too. As I open my heart to you in prayer, fill me with greater faith in hope; root my heart in greater hope in you; and let me love you just a bit more this Christmas. Jesus, you come to me; I want to be here for you, too.

 

Encountering Christ:

 

  1. Blessing God: When Zechariah proclaimed that his son would be named John, as the Angel of God declared, his tongue was freed and he spoke blessing God. And what a hymn of praise it was! His words have been taken up by the whole Church and are recited daily by clergy, religious, and many laypeople around the world in the morning hour of the Liturgy of the Hours, Lauds. As we listen to these words on the eve of Christ’s birth, we are reminded that prayers of praise instantly place us in the proper disposition before God: as lowly creatures before our creator and beloved children before our Father. As we call to mind the awesome attributes of God, our hearts are humbled so that we can bow low before the infant in his manger.

 

  1. The Savior Is Close: Zechariah proclaimed that God was sending a Savior from the house of David, and with warm words of fatherly love he welcomed his Son, “prophet of the most high.” His prayer, so eloquent and inspired, stirs our hearts into anticipatory fervor. The Savior is near! He will come as an infant king, a helpless newborn, a light in the darkness, and a guide in the way of peace. Let us gather up our busy, scattered hearts, to prepare to live these great mysteries on this Christmas night and tomorrow’s Christmas morn.

 

  1. Knowledge of Salvation: The Savior of Zechariah’s prophecy won us forgiveness of our sins by his suffering, death, and resurrection. Just hours from celebrating Jesus’ birth, let’s take a moment to recall the words of the prophet John the Baptist and “repent.” Let’s acknowledge our sinfulness and thank Our Lord and Savior for the awesome demonstration of love by which he has made our salvation possible. The dawn of his compassion breaks forth upon us. He shines on our darkness and leads us to his peace.

 

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, very soon Mary and Joseph will hold you in their arms, you who are the salvation of all the world. You are my Redeemer, and you are Redeemer of all. I praise you for your goodness and mercy, and I beg you, come soon! Come with the grace and healing our world and my own heart so need. Remind me of your love; let me know you more deeply this Christmas, and love you more.

 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will strive to raise my heart and mind to you amidst the busyness and preparations and pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

 

For Further Reflection: You may wish to read The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ from the Roman Martyrology in preparation for tomorrow’s solemnity.

 

Beth Van de Voorde is a Regnum Christi Consecrated Woman, currently serving in pastoral ministry to families in Madrid and Valencia, Spain. When she’s not reading Ratzinger or humming along to some song or another, you may find her making her pilgrim way through Spain’s timeless history of faith, walking alongside the beautiful families and young people she’s there to serve.

December 25, 2024 - Hurrying to the Mangerside

Christmas Day

Luke 2:1-20

 

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels went away from them to Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

 

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, this is the day! This is the day of your Son’s birth and how I thank you for sending him to us, for dwelling among us, and for the salvation you offer us in him. I wish to bend down, enter the cave, and draw close to the mangerside in these moments of prayer. Let me contemplate your newborn Son with his mother and foster-father beside him, and then, let me be with you. Speak to me, if you wish, or be silent. But only be with me, Father of our Infant King.

 

Encountering Christ:

 

  1. St. Joseph Led the Way: How Joseph’s concern for his wife must have grown as he sought a place for Mary to give birth. What great responsibility he must have felt, and how he must have prayed for God to provide for her and her newborn son, his foster son and Savior. He and Mary made the trip to Bethlehem because it was Joseph’s hometown. They had traveled a long distance. They were worn out and aware that the time had come. He was doing his very best to find shelter, yet they found no room in the inns of Bethlehem. Do Joseph’s angst and his great desire to love God’s Son and provide for Mary find resonance in our hearts this Christmas? Perhaps we’ve done our very best to serve our loved ones, surmounted obstacles to prepare our Christmas hearts and homes, and yet find ourselves in an unexpected situation. Can we trust like St. Joseph that God desires to be born in us regardless of our circumstances—that our Father has things all worked out (cf. Rom 8:28)?

 

  1. The Shepherds Hurried to the Mangerside: The shepherds, the lowliest of the low, the greatest of the outcasts, were the first whom God called to adore his Son. Did they recognize the magnitude of this moment? As C.S. Lewis said, “Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” At the angel’s bidding, these shepherds approached the stable and greeted the Holy Family. With nothing more than their poverty and tender love, they bowed low before the Infant to kiss his royal brow. And then they left, emboldened for their new mission, to tell everyone they saw about the newborn King.

 

  1. We Draw Close to the Mangerside: Over these past weeks of Advent we have prepared our hearts to encounter Jesus in his manger, and that moment has arrived. We bring to the infant Jesus the gifts of our weaknesses and strengths, our efforts and failures, our self-offerings, and even our sinfulness. We are confident that Jesus receives it all, and loves us. “Jesus is born for a humanity searching for freedom and peace. He is born for everyone burdened by sin, in need of salvation, and yearning for hope” (St. John Paul II).

 

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, I adore you and I love you. I thank you and I praise you. Here I am; here is my heart. You have come for me, and how I welcome you. You know my poverty better than I do, but you don’t seem to mind, as you are poor, too. Infant King, I am grateful you hear me and love me.

 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will strive to begin this new, special season of Christmastime united to your Mother Mary and St. Joseph.

 

For Further Reflection: “Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that he gave his only Son. The only requirement is to believe in him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life” (Corrie Ten Boom).

 

Beth Van de Voorde is a Regnum Christi Consecrated Woman, currently serving in pastoral ministry to families in Madrid and Valencia, Spain. When she’s not reading Ratzinger or humming along to some song or another, you may find her making her pilgrim way through Spain’s timeless history of faith, walking alongside the beautiful families and young people she’s there to serve.

December 26, 2024 - Seed of the Church

Feast of Saint Stephen, First Martyr

Matthew 10:17-22

 

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

 

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I humbly come before you today, you who came to earth so meekly, born to die, to show us how to live. Today we celebrate one who had great trust in you, who took your words to heart. May we, too, be like Saint Stephen: “angel-faced” and heavenly minded in all we do. Lord, I humbly ask for this grace: to be filled with your Spirit to enable me to think like you and speak boldly of you and persevere to the end.

 

Encountering Christ:

 

  1. Beware: Today we read “Beware of men.” What a warning! We ourselves are mere “men” when we are not filled with your Spirit and relying on the Lord. How easy it is for us to fall into prideful thinking. “I got this,” “I can do this,” and “I am in control” are just some of the thoughts of “men.” How contrary to that thinking are the Lord’s ways. Only with God are “all things possible.” Only with God do we have the grace to combat thinking like “men.” Let us heed the warning of Saint Paul, “See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ” (Col 2:8). May we have the “mind of Christ” to discern when we are falling into the world’s ways versus the Lord’s ways.

 

  1. No Worries: How impossible it is for those of us thinking like “men” to avoid anxiety and worry. It is so easy to act like a Christian and so difficult to react like one. When our hearts are filled with God’s grace, however, we will hear him telling us what to say “in the moment.” If we rely on grace, the Lord promises that the Father will speak through us. Today, the day after we celebrate the Lord’s birth, let us ask for the grace to be born ever anew so that the Lord may always and everywhere “speak through us” in word, thought, and deed.

 

  1. Hated by All? We must ask ourselves which banner we will march under. God’s? Or the world’s? Sometimes the choice is very obvious, and at other times there is only a subtle dividing line between a good or evil action. Let’s pray for the clarity to know what to do in any given moment and the desire to speak well always. Perhaps, by our example, we will inspire others to do the same.

 

Conversing with Christ: Dear Lord, only by your grace can we think, speak, and live according to your will in this fallen world. Only by trusting and fully relying on you can we persevere to the end and be saved—but oh, happy day when we do! Lord, bless us so that one day we will be “angel-faced” like Stephen, and by our life’s witness help to plant and water the seeds for the future of the Church.

 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will say a little prayer before I open my mouth to give my opinion.

 

For Further Reflection: Faithful Unto Death: A Retreat Guide on Heroic Youth & the Marytrs

 

Melissa Overmyer is a convert to Catholicism; founder of the Georgetown Women’s Bible Study and Something Greater Ministries; and author of Born to Soar, Unleashing God’s Word in Your Life.

December 27, 2024 - Love Lends Us Wings

Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist

John 20:1a and 2-8

 

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.

 

Opening Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to take this time to open my mind and my heart to whatever it is you want to say to me today. I know and believe you are present to me. You are the living God. Like St. John, may my life be one of constantly seeking to know you, finding you, and following you.

 

Encountering Christ:

 

  1. They All Ran: Knowing, truly knowing Jesus brought an eagerness to the disciples’ hearts that pushed them to physical exertion trying to discover what had become of his body. Mary ran in her excitement and bewilderment to share that Jesus’ body was missing from the tomb. At the news, John and Peter ran with great anticipation, despite the danger of being arrested. Jesus wants us to run to him with eager hearts as did the disciples. When we truly seek him and his truth we always discover more than we initially imagined. How many times in life has Christ beckoned us, “Come to me”? How God’s love has changed us! In this holy season of Christmas, how might we run to the Lord with greater enthusiasm? Let us ask the Lord to increase our longing to discover him in all the ways he shows up in our lives.

 

  1. John’s Reverence: John bent and saw the burial cloths but did not enter. He would not enter the tomb first because he deferred to Peter, knowing that the Lord had given Peter a leadership position at the service of the Church. John knew Peter well, both his strengths and his weaknesses. John knew of Peter’s denial during Christ’s Passion. Many times, the Lord places someone in leadership over us who is not perfect. Trusting in God’s ways, we are sometimes called to defer (provided that doing so would not be sinful). Because we are all incorporated into the Mystical Body, the Church, and called to live our own unique vocation within it, we build up the body of Christ when we put aside our own judgment and humbly acquiesce to someone else’s leadership for the glory of God.

 

  1. He Saw and Believed: Although the Resurrection was foretold by Christ, John did not know exactly what would happen. This “disciple whom Jesus loved,” the one who laid his head on Jesus’ chest at the Last Supper, and who accompanied Jesus closely throughout his Passion, was able in an instant to view the evidence present in the empty tomb and believe that his Lord had risen. What thoughts might have crossed John’s mind and heart as he stood there holding burial cloths? Was he recalling the raising of Lazarus from the dead? Jesus’ proclamation, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Jn 14:6)? Moments from the Last Supper when Jesus instituted the Eucharist and Holy Orders? Jesus’ last words from the cross, “It is finished”? In an instant, the fragments from the life of Christ that John witnessed fell into place painting an undeniable portrait of a God who loves us beyond telling. John would spend his last years striving to share with all of us just how much God cares for each of us with an infinite, personal, and unrepeatable love.

 

Conversing with Christ: Dear Lord, just as John was a beloved disciple, so I am also called to run to you with eager expectation and discover just how much you love me. In this season of Christmas, as I contemplate you in the manger where your body is wrapped not in burial cloths but swaddling clothes, I ask for the gift of seeing and believing.

 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pause before you wrapped in swaddling clothes, thanking you for living, dying, and rising for love of me.

 

For Further Reflection: Say the Nicene Creed slowly and deliberately.

December 28, 2024 - A Man to Protect the Innocent

Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

Matthew 2:13-18

 

When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son. When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.

 

Opening Prayer: Lord, thank you for this opportunity to come before you in prayer. Help me to continue to celebrate your birth during this octave of Christmas. May I draw from this sobering story in today’s reading some guidance for my day.

 

Encountering Christ:

 

  1. Jesus Born into Difficult Times: Herod had temporal power and wielded it carelessly, resulting in the slaughtering of innocent children. How often it happens that those in power make decisions that seem senseless in our eyes. The death of these innocent infants, however, was not in vain. They were the first witnesses to the reality of the contradiction of Christ and, in this, also received their reward as martyrs. Jesus comes near when we offer him the small sufferings we endure daily. Our sufferings might, in fact, require enduring the tyranny of difficult leaders, as did this generation. What does it look like to witness to Christ when not everyone rallies around us? How are we living this Christmas season witnessing to Christ?

 

  1. Joseph Responded to the Prompting of God: St. Joseph was given the mission of guardian to the Redeemer. He used his whole humanity—his power, his strength, his skill in carpentry, and his discipline in prayer—to carry out his work as a father and provider. He was very aware of the need to respond to the inspirations God gave him. In this moment, Joseph put his trust in God and responded promptly to what the dream revealed to him. He knew his docility would require building a new, temporary life in Egypt for his family, and it must have taken courage for him to go forward. In our own life, there are things God asks of us that take courage. We can call on St. Joseph for strength to do Our Lord’s will, no matter how inconvenient.

 

  1. Jesus Was Guarded by a Father: Although Jesus was God, he needed and was given the gift of an earthly father in the person of St. Joseph. Joseph’s loving care and concern for the Blessed Mother and her infant Jesus weren’t recorded in the Scriptures. Nor were his sacrifices for the daily provision for his family. It’s possible that Joseph felt insignificant and unequipped for his role as Jesus and Mary’s guardian. At times we can feel insignificant and wonder if our “yes” to the Lord matters. Just as Our Lord selected St. Joseph to parent Jesus, he has chosen us to know, love, and serve him in this time and place. Nothing—no action of ours—is insignificant if it is offered to the Lord with love. As Brother Lawrence says, “We can do little things for God… It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.”

 

Conversing with Christ: Dear Lord, there are men in this world who do not protect the innocent, who fail to stand firm and strong in virtue. This could be disconcerting, but I also know there are good and truly humble and holy men like St. Joseph, who strive to love and protect the innocent. Thank you, Lord, for all people who stand up for the truth in this age. May I have the strength, the courage, and the faith to imitate St. Joseph in his protection of the innocent, and in the humble, quiet work of everyday life he no doubt offered up to you.

 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I want to witness to my faith in you when the moment presents itself. Come, Holy Spirit.

 

For Further Reflection: This reflection highlights St. Joseph’s life and mission and how it’s relevant in today’s world.

December 29, 2024 - Holy Families

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Luke 2:41-52

 

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

 

Opening Prayer: Dear Lord, today, days after your holy birth, I want to open my heart more deeply to the mystery of your life. As I am before you today, let me be united to you through this prayer and receive from the Holy Spirit the gift of understanding you more fully. Let me be aware of your presence and wisdom as a guide in my life. Strengthen my hope to attain the holy life to which you have called me (2 Tim 1:10).

 

Encountering Christ:

 

  1. Seeking Jesus: Mary and Joseph were surprised by Jesus’ behavior and worried about him, just as any parent would be for a lost child. Jesus lived a family life like any of us, and in this moment Jesus did something quite unexpected by not following the caravan headed back to Nazareth. Mary was so exasperated that she voiced her concern aloud to Jesus: “Son, why have you done this to us?” Joseph searched within his own heart to understand. We know what it is like when unexpected events like miscommunication or misunderstandings complicate family or community life. Is our first impulse to voice our concerns to Jesus?

 

  1. Jesus Responded: At Jesus’ response, did Mary and Joseph begin to see the unfolding truth of their Son’s mission beyond his immediate family? Jesus, their beloved son, yet also the beloved Son of the Father, was showing them where he was being led by God. He invited them to recognize that, even though his family was home, his place of growth and stability in love, he was being invited by the Father to a witness that would demand a complete “letting go,” a detachment from the two people he surely loved most deeply on earth. Our family is meant to be our stronghold, but ultimately we are all called to communion with Christ through a vocation and mission of our own. This often means letting go. “The mission of the Christian in the world is a mission for all, a mission of service, which excludes no one; it requires great generosity and in particular the gaze and heart turned heavenward to invoke the Lord’s help. There is so much need for Christians who bear witness to the Gospel with joy in everyday life. The disciples, sent by Jesus, ‘returned with joy.’ When we do this, our heart fills with joy” (Pope Francis, Angelus, July 3, 2016).

 

  1. The Holy Family: Today’s Feast of the Holy Family reminds us that growth in grace and virtue originates in family life. We have a personal call to holiness, but it is lived out amid others in the close-knit experience of family. Jesus set the example for us by obedience to his earthly parents and total adherence to his heavenly Father’s will. We even have a commandment, “Honor thy father and mother.” So crucial is our loving participation in the family that St. John Paul II said, “As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live” (November 30, 1986).

 

Conversing with Christ: Dear Lord, thank you for calling me to a family, not only the family that I was born into, but also the family of God and the Church. Let me be aware that in this mystery, I join the mystery of your Incarnation. Help me to be united to you in the way I live my own life within my family and to trust that by my obedience I am growing in holiness and pleasing you. I ask the Holy Family especially to watch over and protect me, my family, and all those whom I love.

 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will ponder and appreciate how you are working in my family.

 

For Further Reflection: Familiaris Consortio of Pope John Paul II, on the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World.

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!