What sort of preparations should we make to welcome the birth of Jesus, son of God, at Christmas? We need to get ourselves into the right frame of mind so that we don’t get bogged down in the little details. We remind ourselves why it is such an important occasion; we remember what a mess we have often made of things – our relationships, our attitudes to other people, our care for our world. We remember the example Jesus gave us of love, of generosity, of humility, of self-sacrifice. We say sorry for having fallen short. We recognise that we need to invite Jesus into our lives to help us put things right. So here’s another prayer to help us:
Dear Lord, we are sorry for falling so far short. We ask for your help in following the example of Jesus. We pray that he may enter our lives and renew our hopes. And we say: Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.