Our Spiritual Journey through the St. Philip’s Fast

I would encourage all of my readers to join with me in making this St. Philip’s Fast 2014 special by adding a Prayer-A-Day to your efforts to prepare for the coming Winter Feasts. With these prayers we begin our sincere effort to prepare ourselves to celebrate the Winter Feasts which deal with God’s revelation of Himself to us. May our efforts at making this St. Philip’s Fast be of benefit not only for us but for our entire community

Sunday, November 16th
Almighty God, help me to sincerely prepare myself to celebrate the coming Winter Feasts. I join with my sisters and brothers in offering this prayer as we begin this fast: Rejoice O Bethlehem and be ready O Ephrata! Behold, the Virgin is on her way to give birth to the Great Shepherd she carries in her womb. May we, who believe in Jesus as God Incarnate, open our hearts and minds so that we may truly celebrate God With Us. May we not get caught up in a materialistic observance of this wondrous feast. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Monday, November 17th
O Heavenly Father, help me to prepare myself to celebrate the coming theophanic feasts that herald Your Incarnation in the Person of Jesus. In these feasts You truly revealed Yourself as Trinity and Your great love for humankind. Open my mind and heart to understand that You have revealed to me and my brothers and sisters that You are with us. Help me to prepare myself so that I may truly experience your presence in my life and in my world as I celebrate these feasts. I ask your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Tuesday, November 18th
Almighty God, help me, as I prepare to celebrate Your birth as a human and Your revelation as our Triune God during the Baptism of Jesus by John, to realize that my life is a gift from You, given, not in years, but a day at a time. Today is the day the You have made for me and You may have planned it to be the most important day of my life. Yesterday is gone, never to return. I must not worry about it but leave it in Your hands. Tomorrow and all that it holds is Your secret and its coming is not assured. Only today is mine. My God, each day, arranged by You with infinite wisdom and goodness, is Your gift, Your act of love for me. In thanksgiving I offer You the gift of my life every day – my prayers, works, joys and sufferings. I humbly ask you to accept my thanks and ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Wednesday, November 19th
O Gracious and Loving Father, unto Whom all hearts are open, unto Whom all wills do speak and from Whom no secret thing is hidden, I beseech You to cleanse the purpose of my heart with the unutterable gift of Your help, so that I may perfectly love You, worthily praise You and sincerely prepare myself to celebrate the up-and-coming great Winter Feasts. May my celebration of these feasts lead me to deeper hope and faith in You. I ask your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Thursday, November 20th
O Heavenly Father, teach me that, as Your child, worry has no place in my life. I know that it helps nothing. I know that worry overcomes no difficulty. Often in the past, O Lord, I have come to You with a burdened heart. You have answered my prayers and have graciously lifted my heart’s burden from me. Yet, I still refuse to leave my burden with You. Always I gather up those heavy bundles of fears and anxieties and I shoulder them again. Help me, O Gracious Lord, to overcome these useless thoughts and lift from me once again all anxiety and apprehension. I know that they will keep me from truly preparing to celebrate the coming feasts. I ask your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Friday, November 21st
O Merciful Father, as I prepare to celebrate Your birth and manifestation to Your world in the Person of Your Son Jesus, give me the great gift of inward peace. Command the winds and storms of my unruly passions. Subdue my proneness to love created things too much. Make me forbearing and kind to others so that I may avoid quarrels and contentions and help me make this time of the Winter Feasts truly a time of joy and happiness not only for me but for all those who are a part of my life. Teach me to constantly seek after and acquire that resignation to Your will which alone can bring me inner peace. I ask your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Saturday, November 22nd
O Lord, have mercy on all my friends and relatives, on all my benefactors, on all who pray for me, and on all who have asked me to pray for them. Give them a spirit of fruitful penance and make all Your virtues flower in them. Let them, O Lord, so live that they may be pleasing to You. Help them, and me, to prepare to celebrate the coming feasts with faith, making them not holidays but holy days – days that help me to deepen my relationship with You. I ask your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Sunday, November 23rd
O Heavenly Father, let me be eager and celebrate before its time the Nativity of Christ and Your manifestation as my Triune God. Let me lift up my mind and heart to Bethlehem and imagine the Virgin on her way to the cave to give birth to You, the Lord of All. Help me to realize that You came into Your world in order to reveal to me how to live this earthly life and have a deeper relationship with You. Help me to realize that it is only through my willingness to treat my sisters and brothers with love that I can make my relationship with You stronger and deeper. I ask your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Monday, November 24th
O Almighty God, You have come so many times to me and found no resting place. Forgive me for my overcrowded life, my vain haste and preoccupation with self. Come again, O Lord, and though my heart is a jumble of voices and my mind overlaid with many fears, find a place however humble where You can begin to work Your wonder as you create peace and joy within me. If in some hidden corner, in some out-of-the-way spot, I can clear away the clutter and shut out the noise and darkness, come be born again in me and I will kneel in perfect peace with the wisest and humblest of men. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Tuesday, November 25th
O God, inspire me so that I may see the divine mercy that is revealed in Bethlehem. Let me cleanse my mind and offer virtues to You instead of myrrh. Let me prepare to enter the feast of the Nativity with faith, storing up treasure in my soul as I cry aloud: “Glory in the highest to God in Trinity, whose good will is now being revealed to men, in His love for mankind He will set Adam free from the ancient curse. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Wednesday, November 26th
O God, help me to truly believe that You, my Creator, clothed Yourself in flesh in order to truly express Your great love for me. Help me to believe that You, Who fashioned the whole creation with Your strong arm, became flesh in the womb of a woman whom You formed in order to prove Your love by actually sharing all the experiences of this earthly with me, with the exception of sin. Help me by Your great mercy and kindness to prepare myself to understand the Good News You shared with me through Your incarnation. Help me to know that I can live like You lived because of Your help. I ask Your help again and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Thursday, November 27th
O Heavenly Father, help me this day, which I celebrate with my fellow citizens as a day of Thanksgiving, to be truly thankful for all that You have given me, especially the gift of life. Help me to truly believe and know that the life that is within me calling me into existence, is, in some mysterious way, Your own life. Help me to realize that You created me to be your child, that is someone You desire to be destined to share in the peace and happiness of Your eternal Kingdom. Make my gratitude real and sincere. Help me to demonstrate my gratitude by extending love to all men and women who share this earthly existence with me. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Friday, November 28th
O Almighty God, help me to understand and live with a deep awareness that You are unceasingly being born into this world in me. Your incarnation as a human tells me that my life, and all human life, is a sharing in Your Divine Life and that with each millisecond of my life is, in reality, You being born again in my world. Just as Your Life brought into existence Your Son Jesus, so Your life not only brings me into existence but sustains me in existence. I find it difficult, O Heavenly Father, to truly understand this miracle. Help me if I, at any time, display any ignorance about this great mystery and help me prepare myself to celebrate in the coming feasts Your manifestation of this great truth. I ask your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Saturday, November 29th
O Christ our God, Your Kingdom is eternal and Your dominion is from generation to generation. You have become incarnate of the Holy Spirit, being made Man through the ever-virgin Mary. Your coming, O Christ, has shed upon us a great light. O You, Light of Light and Radiance of the Father! You have illuminated the whole creation. Wherefore everything that breathes sings to You a hymn of praise. O image of the Father’s glory, eternal God, existing before all ages, who shone forth from the Virgin. O Lord, glory to You. Help me to prepare myself to truly celebrate this great mystery. I ask your help and   offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Sunday, November 30th 
O Heavenly Father, help me to prepare myself, like Bethlehem, to be the place of Your truth birth. Help me not to live in such a manner that I say, by my actions, to you, there is no room for Your presence in my internal Bethlehem. Help me to truly understand that I can, with Your help, make my heart and mind a fitting place where You can dwell. I know that I can do this by transforming the way that I think and, therefore, the way that I act. I know that all I have to say is: Come, O Lord   Jesus into my heart. I will make room for You in my life and make Your Kingdom real by the way that I voluntarily respond to all who come into my life and to the events of life. I ask your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Monday, December 1st 
O Almighty God, as the man Jesus you were hungry and fed the hungry as God. You were hungry and man and yet are the true Bread of Life. As a man you were thirsty and yet called all to “come and drink”. You were, as man, weary and yet You are our rest. I ask you to come into my heart and truly prepare me to celebrate Your birth as a man and commit myself to living as You lived. Help me to live as You did, unconditionally loving even those who betrayed You and killed You. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Tuesday, December 2nd
Merciful Father and our incarnate God, You opened up for us the way to salvation, the way to understanding the true purpose for our existence here on earth. Because of Your great love for me, You actually came into my world in the Person of Jesus, Your beloved Son, to share with me how to live this earthly life so that I might truly develop myself as Your child and, therefore, come to know You as my loving Father. Help me to place no more obstacles in my way to becoming Your true child. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Wednesday, December 3rd
O Father in heaven, let me pour out my tears in place of myrrh and offer them to You, as Jesus Christ our true God, born in the flesh for my sake and that of all humankind. Help me to purify my flesh of its iniquities so that I might approach Christ, Your beloved Son, with purity of mind and heart and say, “All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord! Exalt Him through all ages.” Help me, O Lord, to really understand why You became man and spent Your human life teaching others how to live. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Thursday, December 4th 
O Eternal God, Who has revealed to the world that You are Three-In-One and have actually, in time, taken on human flesh to assure me that you know the struggles that I must face as a human being, help me to understand the great love You have for me and all humankind. Help me to see that You came into the world in order to truly show me how to live in order to experience the fullness of life. Help me to also understand, as I think about Your birth as a child in a manger in Bethlehem, that the cultivation of true humility is one of the greatest things I can do in order to gain the true benefit that this earthly life is designed to offer me. Help me to prepare myself to celebrate the fact that You are truly with me, helping me to deal with the challenges of life. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Friday, December 5th
O Most Merciful Father in heaven, help me to continue my personal preparation to celebrate the great winter feasts. Help me to understand that in the events I am preparing to celebrate with others in my Christian Community – the events wherein You make Yourself manifest as a human being for the sake of my salvation – that these events speak of Your great love not only for me and other humans but for Your entire creation. You have filled all things with Your Life out of love for Your creation. Help me to truly understand this and do all in my power to cherish the Life You are sharing with me. Help me also, in response to Your great love, extend love unconditionally to all others. I know that the only adequate response to Your love is my love for others. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Saturday, December 6th
Heavenly Father, help me today to remember our Father among the Saints, Nicholas of Myra. Indeed he is a real example and model for me and others. He dedicated his life to serving You by loving and helping others. He frequently saved others by sharing his resources. His works of charity are legend. I beg You, Almighty God, to give me the courage to imitate his saintly life. I know that I have been called to holiness, to imitate Your Son Jesus as St. Nicholas did. I need Your help to accomplish this task and thank You in advance. As I ask Your help I offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Sunday, December 7th
Heavenly Father, the days of preparation for the winter feasts are quickly passing. In just a few weeks the great feast of Your incarnation as man will be celebrated. You came, I truly believe, in the Person of Your Son Jesus, Who is the Christ – the Anointed One. As this feasts grows ever closer, the society in which I live grows ever more frenetic. Help me to remain calm and keep my focus on spiritually   preparing myself to celebrate Christmas not as a holiday but truly as a Holy Day. Help me to truly celebrate the fact that You became a human person in order to help me understand how to live this earthly life in order to spiritually grow and become evermore like the child You intended when You created me. Help me to truly grateful for the love You have shown toward me and others. Help me to understand what You intended to reveal to me and others through Your incarnation as a human. Help me to know that You are With Us. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Monday, December 8th
O most merciful God, the time is quickly passing before we celebrate the feast of Your Nativity and Your Manifestation as the God-man Jesus. Help me not to allow the preparations for Christmas to distract me from preparing myself spiritually to celebrate these feasts. Help me from getting caught-up in the traditional, hectic pace suggested by society for the celebration of Christmas. I know that if I allow myself to become fully focused on sending cards, buying presents, decorating the house and preparing food, I will forget to prepare     myself spiritually for these feasts – I will forget the true meaning of these feasts. I ask Your help and offer praise to You,   Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Tuesday, December 9th
O heavenly Father, I know that today our Church celebrates the conception of the Virgin Mary by Anna and Joachim. This event marked the beginning of Your final revelation to all humankind about Your presence in our lives and world. Help me to keep this day holy as I continue my preparation for the winter feasts. As I think about how Joachim and Anna persevered in their trust in Your loving kindness, help me to never to loose my trust in Your great mercy and love. Help me to know, first of all, that perseverance in my trust in You can only lead to true happiness. Like Joachim and Anna, life presents struggles and challenges to help me know how to trust Your loving kindness. I know that You will never forsake me in the same way that You did not forsake Anna and Joachim. As they spent time preparing for the birth of Mary, help me spend time preparing to for the birth of Jesus, her Son, in my heart and life. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.  

Wednesday, December 10th
Almighty God, the days go short before the celebration of Your Holy Birth in the Person of Jesus, the Christ. Help me to use these remaining days to prepare my heart and mind to truly celebrate this great feast. Help me to understand that Your birth tells me that You are the life-force within each human being. Help me also to understand that since You are within me, that You are being constantly born again in our world in me. Help me to understand that this gives great purpose and meaning to my life. I am now the person through whom You enter into the world. Like Jesus, it is my purpose to bring Your love and kindness into the world and truly make Your kingdom present. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Thursday, December 11th
Heavenly Father, with eagerness help me to join with all people in celebrating, before its time, the Nativity of Christ. Let me lift up my mind and heart to Bethlehem and contemplate the great Mystery in the cave. Eden was opened when God came forth from the pure Virgin, a perfect Man and perfect God. Wherefore, let me cry out and say, “Holy is God the eternal Father! Holy is the Mighty One, the Incarnate Son! Holy is the Immortal One, the Spirit Paraclete! All-Holy Trinity, glory be to You. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Friday, December 12th
O Holy Father, help me to pray with the Church these holy words: “Heaven give heed; and earth lend your ear! The Son of the Father, the Word Himself is coming! He shall be born of an undefiled maiden. Because she consented and gave birth without pain, through the assistance of the Holy Spirit, make ready Bethlehem; and you, Eden, open your gates; for He who is shall become the Dispenser of great mercy to the world”. Help me, O Holy Father, to understand that the winter feasts we are about to celebrate do not commemorate past events but, rather, celebrate what I believe, and the Church believes, are transpiring at the present time in the spiritual dimension. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Saturday, December 13th
Again I ask You, Heavenly Father, to allow me to join my voice with the Church and pray: “Behold the time of our salvation draws near: let the cave be ready, for the Virgin is about to give birth; and you, Bethlehem of Judah, rejoice and be glad for the Lord will soon shine forth from your midst. Listen, all you mountains and you hills, and all you     country of Judah: Christ is coming to save us, His creatures, for He is the Lover of mankind”. Help me, Father, to realize that this mystery is happening right now. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Sunday, December 14th
O Heavenly God, I join my voice with the Church and pray: “The holy sayings of the prophets have been fulfilled in the city of Bethlehem within a cave. The whole creation is made rich; let it rejoice and be of good cheer. The Master of all has come to live with His servants and from the bondage of the enemy He delivers us     who were made subject to corruption. In swaddling clothes and lying in a manger He is made manifest as a new Child being God from all eternity”. I beg You, my loving God, to open my heart and mind so that I may truly celebrate Your Manifestation of Yourself as something that is happening right now in my life and in my world. I ask Your help and offer praise to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Monday, December 15th
Almighty God, we have just remembered, through our liturgical celebration, that You promised to send a Messiah to help us understand the meaning and purpose of life, I beg you to enlighten my mind so that I might truly see Jesus as the Messiah. This promise was kept alive for centuries and was fulfilled by His birth. Help me to be truly thankful to You for fulfilling this promise. Help me to truly celebrate Your Manifestation by embracing the Way of Jesus. Help me to understand that He is truly Your revelation to me on how to live this earthly life. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

Tuesday, December 16th
Heavenly Father, help me this day to truly understand that You freely became a human in order to not only reveal Your great love for me but to show me how to live as Your child. I beg You to increase my insight so that I might truly realize that You continue to make Yourself known to humankind – that You are manifesting Yourself in my world right now. Help me to be Your true messenger. Help me to love unconditionally as Jesus did. Help me to treat all others as I want to be treated. Curb within me any desire to be judgmental of others, even if they do not live in the manner that I have chosen to live. Also, help me to never hold a grudge or refuse to forgive others that I may feel have hurt me in some way. Help me, Heavenly Father, to live this way so that I can truly merit being Your Child. Help me, O Lord, to truly understand why my Church declares: Christ IS Born – why we do not       celebrate a past event but, rather, something we believe is happening right now in God’s Kingdom. I ask this in Your name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Wednesday, December 17th
Heavenly Father, this day we remember the prophet Daniel. We pray: Your pure heart was enlightened by the Holy Spirit so that It could become an instrument of prophecy. I ask You to enlightened my heart by your Holy Spirit so that I might live like Your Son Jesus lived. Help me, like Daniel, to proclaim Your goodness and mercy. Help me, like him, to focus my life on becoming Your child. As I prepare to celebrate Your Incarnation as a human, O Lord, help me to understand that You are within me and call me, like Jesus, to make Your kingdom real by the way I treat others. Help me also, O Heavenly Father, to know that You love me. I ask this in Your name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.

Thursday, December 18th
Almighty God, the days grow ever fewer before we celebrate the birth of Your Son Jesus. Help me to persevere in my efforts to prepare myself spiritually to celebrate this winter feast. I am feeling distracted from the true meaning of Christmas because of what I have allowed myself     to feel is necessary for me to do to observe this day. I ask Your help in keeping me focused on preparing my life for a spiritual celebration of Christmas. Help me to truly remember that Christmas is a Holy Day, a day of thanksgiving and prayer and not just a holiday. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

Friday, December 19th
Most Holy Trinity, I continue my petition for Your help in preparing myself to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas. I find it so difficult to keep focused on the spiritual meaning of this feast because of the great focus my society places on gift-giving and merry-making as the way to observe the day. Help me to intensify my fasting and prayer so that I can celebrate Christmas in a spiritual manner, offering thanks to You, my Loving God. I know that Christmas is truly a day that celebrates Your great love for me and all humankind. Therefore give me the strength to be truly thankful for the gift of life which this feast truly makes know to me. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

Saturday, December 20th
O Heavenly Father, help me to truly join my voice with my Church and pray: O God, let me celebrate the fore-feast of the Nativity of Christ. Let me join the Magi and the shepherds in their hymns of praise by chanting: Behold, the Savior of mankind has come forth from the Virgin to call back to Himself the whole human race. Heavenly Father, it is my prayer and hope that I will truly celebrate Your birth in a spiritual manner, not allowing myself to be distracted by the way my society celebrates this feast. Open my heart and mind to the great love that this feast expresses. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

Sunday, December 21st
Almighty God, I again join my voice with my Church and pray: Let me cast aside all the slothfulness of sleep and rouse up my soul to sing to Christ, born of the spotless Virgin: “All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord”. May the practice of the virtues be adequate in the treasury of my heart, that with an enlightened face, I may sing to the infant Christ: “All you works of the Lord, bless the Lord! Let me offer to You, O my merciful Lord, good works in thanksgiving for the great love You have shown me and help me to truly offer praise to You for becoming Incarnate for the sake of my salvation. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

Monday, December 22nd
O Heavenly Father, I again join my voice with the Church and offer this prayer of preparation for the feast of Your birth and I say: Today the Virgin is on her way to the cave where she will give birth in a manner beyond understanding to the Word Who is, in all eternity. Rejoice, therefore, universe, when you hear it heralded: with the angels and the shepherds, glorify Him Who chose to be seen as a new-born Babe, while remaining God in all eternity. Help me, O Lord, to truly understand this great mystery! Help me to also know that this event also reveals Your presence within humanity. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.
Tuesday, December 23rd
Almighty God, as I come ever closer to the celebration of Your birth, I beg you to grant me the insight to truly understand why You became a human. I know that my Church tells me that Your birth revealed that human life is a sharing in Divine Life. I desire to truly believe this, help my hesitant belief. I am hesitant to believe in this wondrous truth because of my own weaknesses and failings. This truth seems too absolutely wonderful and beyond my imagination. Although I desire it to be true, I fear that, in some way, I am not worthy of such great love. Help my lack of trust. I know that You revealed through Jesus Your great love for all humans. Help me to not only be worthy of Your love but also to feel worthy. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.
Wednesday, December 24th
Almighty Father, our forty-day time of preparation as come to an end. It is now time for our celebration of that most wondrous event, Your coming into our world and becoming incarnate as a human. I stand in awe before the wonder of Your great love. I would dare to think that You, in Your great love for Your creation, decided from all eternity that You would take on human nature in order to reveal to humankind how to live in order to fulfill its primary purpose, namely union with You. I pray again with my Church: At that time, since Mary was of the house of David, she registered with the venerable Joseph in Bethlehem. She was with child, having conceived virginally. Her time was come and they could find no room in the inn, but the cave seemed a joyful palace for the Queen. Christ is born to renew the likeness that had been lost of old. I ask You, Almighty God, to make room within my heart and life for Your presence. I ask this of You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen.

 

Thursday, December 25th
On this day, O Heavenly Father, I declare with a loud voice the prayer of my Church and say: Your nativity, O Christ our God, has shed the light of knowledge upon the world. Through it, those who had been star-worshipers learned through a star to worship You, O Sun of Justice, and to recognize in You the One who rises and who comes from on high. O Lord, glory to You. I pray, O Father, that on this day on which I celebrate Your birth as man, that I may come to the knowledge of the truth and that my faith might be strengthened to truly dare to believe that You came to help me lead my life. Help me to truly know that You love me and trust that my misdeeds will not cause You to hold Your love from me. I offer You thanks for Your great love and I offer You, Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all glory honor and worship not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

 

Friday, December 26th
Almighty God, Who in the feast that we have just celebrated manifested Yourself as joined to the human race, I ask You to help me celebrate this feast in a manner that will strengthen my belief in Your great love. Help me to see Your manifestation as a human and strengthen me in my resolve to live like Jesus lived. As I think about how You came into the world, I realize that You modeled for me what true humility is and revealed to me how essential it is if I am to truly become Your child. You also revealed to me, through Your birth, that simplicity of life is also very important. Help me, O Lord, to learn the lessons that You intended to teach me through Your birth. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

Saturday, December 27th
Help me, O Lord, on this third day of the celebration of Your birth as a human, to open my heart and mind to the true meaning of this great feast and truly instill within me the feelings of gratitude and humility. I know that You came into the world in order to teach me how to live. I beg Your help in understanding this. Give me the courage to truly undertake a life that   models the behaviors of Jesus Christ, Your Son. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit not only now but forever and ever. Amen.

Sunday, December 28th
Help me, O Lord, to now prepare myself for the second great manifestation of Your incarnation, namely Your baptism by John in the Jordan. I know that one of the revelations of this feast is that You are Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Help me to truly sense your presence in my life as my Triune God. Help me to see You as Father and Creator. Help me to see You as Brother and help me to see You as Spirit that is within me guiding me and helping me to live this present life. Help me to truly come to understand that You are the life-force animating me and all creation. I ask this of You Who I call Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and always. Amen