Empty

The other day, I was praying in an adoration chapel beside a parish church. I had been told the chapel would close at 7 p.m. As it was still a quarter past six, I was confident that I would have enough time for my prayers. However, a religious sister, came and without warning took the Blessed Sacrament away.

It seemed to be a normal occurrence. The other parishioners took it all in stride. But it took me a while to recover because it was so abrupt. And staring at the now empty monstrance, I began to feel like someone had just taken something very valuable from me against my will.

 Within a minute the chapel was empty. And it was a very beautiful chapel, I might add -fairly new, air-conditioned, with beautiful religious images all round and just enough gold to remind me that, yes, I was in the house of a King. But the moment the sister took the Blessed Sacrament away, it all seemed so pointless. After all, what was the point of staying in an Adoration chapel if there was no one to adore?

And that's when it hit me. How many times had I done what the sister had done -stripped something of its sole reason for being, like this advent season and many advent seasons long past.  I must admit, many times, I'd often take Jesus out of Christmas. For example, I would mindlessly pick Christmas cards that said "Season's Greetings or Happy Holidays," when what I really wanted is to wish the world a "Merry Christmas." Sometimes, I prepare more for the Christmas parties I attend than in readying my heart to receive my Savior. And many times, I get carried away by the glitter of the lights and the tinsel and I forget to share God's light to others.

 Christmas is all these wonderful things that we have come to expect - it's gift-giving and (let's face it) gift-receiving, it's parties and reunions, it's cold weather and lechon. And all these things are good but only if they truly help us celebrate this great gift that humanity has been given - the gift of the God-made-man who dwells among His people. I would have thought that it'd be easier to remember this as I grew older. And in many ways it has. But in many ways too it hasn't. 

Sometimes, I have to keep myself in check, to not get overwhelmed by the holiday sales, or to spend more time on interior preparations than on exterior ones, or to truly focus on what Advent and Christmas are all about. In other words, I have to get Jesus back where he needs to be at Christmas (and every day too) - front and center.