The December 18, 2020, Reflection – The feeling of Heaven – Hidden in the Newborn!
The feeling of Heaven – hidden in the Newborn! December 18, 2020 Christmas Novena, Day 4 Dear Family of Mary! “…God sent me to be joy and hope in this time, and I am saying to you: Without little Jesus you do not have the tenderness or the feeling of Heaven which is hidden in the Newborn…” (November 25, 2020) I find it comforting to know that God has provided for us in these days we are living right now. He knew that these days would be filled with anxiety, depression, fear of the future, and a deep oppression from the enemy. Our enemy is laying a trap for us. He wants to engulf us in the troubles of these days and take away our peace and our faith. But the Father sent Our Lady “to be joy and hope in this time…” She is the antidote to all that the devil is doing to bring us down. She is joy!! She comes from Heaven to tell us that God exists, that God loves us, that Jesus is our brother, and that we have been called and chosen by God! All of this give us a deep hope for the future. Our Lady of Medjugorje is God’s answer to the lies of the devil. And what does Our Lady tell us to do in these difficult days? “Pray, little children, for little Jesus will be born in your hearts!” She calls us to open our hearts to Jesus. Then she warns us: “Without little Jesus you do not have the tenderness or the feeling of Heaven which is hidden in the Newborn…” We need little Jesus in our hearts so that our hearts can be transformed!! We need little Jesus because His presence brings powerful graces to us. And these graces will change us forever! Jesus will bring to our hearts, tenderness! What is tenderness? Let’s think about it. Tenderness is softness. A tender heart is soft, gentle, kind, generous, welcoming, quiet, and loving. A tender heart is able to feel the needs and trials of others. A tender heart can empathize. Such a heart feels what the other is feeling and responds with love. When a tenderhearted person sees a baby, that person responds with all his or her strength to serve that little one. To protect the baby, to nurture the baby, to comfort the baby…etc. A tender heart is a loving and nurturing heart. When Baby Jesus is born in our hearts, our hearts change. They become tender, supernaturally tender!! And this next gift is even more astounding. With little Jesus in our hearts, we can have “the feeling of Heaven which is hidden in the Newborn!” The feeling of Heaven! Heaven itself is hidden in the Newborn Jesus. Little Jesus brings Heaven in a powerful way. It is true that every newborn baby communicates a bit of Heaven. If you have ever witnessed a birth, you know this is true. When that tiny little human is revealed, squinting at the light, shivering a bit with the coolness of the air, reaching out but not finding the comforting confines of the womb, and just being so new, there is also something otherworldly about him. It has to do with wonder. We are astounded at the wonder of new life, the wonder at God’s intricate design for each child, and even more we are in wonder at the presence of a soul that will live forever. We can feel it. It is there. And so, imagine what it was like to see the Newborn King! Magnify this wonder at a newborn human a billion, trillion times and you will still only be scratching the surface. Jesus, the Newborn, brought Heaven to earth. And though it was hidden from so many in His time, it broke out quite often, bringing healing and conversion and truth and light to all who desired to see. Our Lady wants us to experience that Heaven that is hidden in the Newborn this Christmas. She wants us to be transformed by the Heaven that is hidden in the Newborn Jesus, born in our hearts. Our Lady is talking about transformation. She wants us changed, made whole and strong through the birth of Jesus in our hearts. Are we ready to be transformed? Are we ready to be filled with joy, hope, tenderness, and Heaven? We need to pray for it (desire it) and give Jesus permission to come into our hearts this Christmas! Let us pray: Dearest Baby Jesus. I love You. I can’t take our eyes off of You. I long for You. And I pray to You, please come and be born in my heart today. And I say to You: I give you permission to be born in my heart right now, today. I give you permission to use my poor stable of a heart as your birthplace. I open the doors of my stable/heart, and I say to You, come! Come with Your Mother, Mary, and with Your foster father, Joseph, and find in my heart, a place to rest and be born. I welcome You with wonder and awe. And I love You with all of my strength. Come and take over my stable of a heart. It is Yours forever. Amen. In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2020