Put Yourself into the Christmas Story, my latest at Patheos

Here's this week's column from Patheos describing a simple method for meditating on the Christmas story... spend some time in God's Word this season!  Here's a little bit...

Put yourself in the story. It’s a real spiritual exercise; a form of meditation that disallows just passively listening to the message, but actively receives it. 

Imagination stirs us to become a character in the story’s action, or to be ourselves as bystanders or witnesses of the events. That kind of identification draws us deeper into “the Greatest Story Ever Told”, letting it take root. We make personal connections when we ponder what catches our attention. The longer you meditate on a scenario in Scripture, the more you relax with the details, and the more vivid the experience. And while your mind is engaged this way, the Spirit of God may whisper to your heart as well. 

Read the infancy narratives in chapters 1 and 2 in the Gospels of Matthew or Luke. You can work with a few paragraphs, or the Gospels at Mass. 

See, smell, touch, hear, and taste. Talk to the people you are reading about. 

Putting myself into the story helps me to “get it.” I acknowledge the truth of my situation; the need for more of God in my life and less of everything else. 

I discover that the supernatural takes place within the realm of my natural world. That’s what makes Christmas so utterly amazing. My eyes see and my heart detects God becoming part of the human family, and I find him in my own experiences.

Read the rest of "Put Yourself into the Christmas Story." 

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