A daily prayer to stay focused on the “reason for the season”

Sometimes a simple prayer is all we need to remind us of what we are celebrating.

Christmas is getting closer and festive decorations are already surrounding us, preparing us for a season of little elves, reindeer, and fluffy snowmen. In the midst of all the exterior preparations and the looming need to go Christmas shopping, it is easy to forget the “reason for the season.”

One simple way to stay focused is by saying a brief prayer at the start of each day. Here is one prayer, called the “St. Jude Prayer,” that is very powerful and can return our thoughts (and our hearts) to what celebrating Christmas is truly about.

Lord Jesus, your power is infinite, your glory, everlasting. Quietly you come, as a tiny baby. Ready my heart for the miracle of your birth. Bring light to this dark world, waiting silently for your warmth in the coldness of the night. Waiting is itself your gift, animating my heart with anticipation.

Bless me with needed patience and faithful discipline to prayerfully prepare to welcome and greet you. St. Jude, eternal hope, let your holiness flow into me.

May Christmas joy and burning love take root in me and grow until they bloom on Christmas Day, to carry joy to the world and inspire hope to renew the face of the earth.