Hidden in The Heart 'Blessed Sacrament at the Night Office of the Cistercian Abbey' by William J. Wardle

From: William,

... My card includes a copy of a seasonal reflection which I have denoted as "conceived before the Blessed Sacrament at the Night Office of the Cistercian Abbey, Sancta Maria Abbey", my Christmas reflection - I attach an e-copy for you - it came to mind during the wonderful stillness before the Blessed Sacrament that follows after Vigils, the sanctuary light revealing hidden expressions of adoration.

Hidden in The Heart

In the silent hours of the night the sanctuary lamp glows continually, notifying of the very presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament;

just as the Star, shining over the stable in Bethlehem, announces His incarnation. The light of revelation shines through the darkness of faith, revealing His secret and mysterious indwelling, hidden in the heart.

Lk 17:21 for behold, the kingdom of God is within you

I love to dwell in the darkness before the glow of the sanctuary lamp

As one who keeps vigil beneath the Star that rises over Bethlehem

To behold the coming of the Son of Man in the visions of the night ^[1]

A shepherd boy watching for the Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord ^[2]

I gaze upon the tabernacle that hosts the presence of the Lord Jesus

Once cradled in a stable, Child of love divine dwelling in our midst ^[3]

For while gentle silence envelopes all things and night is half gone ^[4]

You come all-powerful Word, Son of God, from the realms of heaven

The flickering candle casts a golden halo around the heavenly Host

As the Star beams forth the radiance of eternal light upon the stable ^[5]

Shining out of darkness to announce the majesty and glory of God ^[6]

Revealed in the infant and manifest in the Person Jesus the Messiah

May the rays spread their illumination within the temple of my soul

That I may come to the knowledge of the secrets and mysteries ^[7]

The treasures of the darkness of faith and the riches concealed ^[8]

Within the sanctuary of Your indwelling, hidden in my heart

^[1]Dan 7:13 I was gazing into the visions of the night, when I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, as it were a Son of Man

^[2]Lk 2:11 To you is born this day… a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord

^[3] Zec 2:10 for behold, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you

^[4] Wis 18:14 for while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven

^[5]Wis 7:26 Wisdom is the glow that radiates from eternal light

^[6]2 Cor 4:6 For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as to beam forth the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ the Messiah

^[7]Mt 13:11 To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven

^[8]Is 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places  

    

conceived before the Blessed Sacrament

at the Night Office of the Cistercian monastery,

Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw, Edinburgh

William

January 8, Christmas Weekday (Day Fifteen)

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January 8, Christmas Weekday Day 15 Mary Jesus Dawn is the time of day in which the first rays of light begin to glimmer, to illumine and dispel the darkness. . . Christ’s actual birth in Bethlehem shows forth the beautiful reality that God works with things according to their nature. Simply put, it makes perfect sense that a darkened world is tangibly illumined by divine, supernatural intervention upon the natural. — Father Wade L. J. Menezes, CPM Candles are a symbol of Christ, the Light of the World. The wax is regarded as typifying in a most appropriate way the flesh of Jesus Christ born of a virgin mother. From this has sprung the further conception that the wick symbolizes more particularly the soul of Jesus Christ and the flame the Divinity which absorbs and dominates both. — Catholic Encyclopedia Day Fifteen activity (Mexican Christmas) Day Fifteen recipe (Little Mince Pies)

January 8 - Christmas Weekday
http://reflectionsonthesacredliturgy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/january-8-christmas-weekday.html 

Christmas Weekday

1 John 4:7-10  +  Psalm 72  +  Mark 6:34-44

January 8, 2013

         

“In this is love:  not that we have loved God,

but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.”  [1 John 4:10]

                                                                                                   

The last sentence of today’s First Reading is my favorite verse of Scripture.  I plan, whenever the Lord calls, to have this verse on the holy card at my funeral.  To me it sums up the entire Gospel message.  “In this is love:  not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.”

The backdrop for this verse is the truth that “God is love”, which John declared two verses earlier.  This verse, then, expands on the meaning of the divine nature, answering the implicit question, “If God is love, what is that love like?”

Like any clear reasoner, John first answers by telling us what God’s nature is not.  God’s nature is not such that He demands our love first, before He gives us His.  God does not play games with His love (that is, His own Self).  He does not exchange His love on a quid pro quo basis.

The foundational truth about God is the primacy of His love.  His love always comes before ours, both in terms of His creation of us, and in terms of our sinfulness.  In the face of our refusal to love Him, He chose to love us, and to heal the breach by sending us His only-begotten Son, “as expiation for our sins.”