"No one, whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below except by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem and adoring Him hidden in the weakness of a new born child."
(CCC 563)
We are starting a new Christmas tradition this year...
~Stations Of The Manger~
I got the idea from my Magnificat prayer book as I
sat in Adoration this morning,
in the presence of God and
our beautiful church manger scene.
I discovered a lovely prayer before a manger,
written by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P.
It got me reflecting upon our own family manger scenes that we have collected over the years and station around our house, starting the first Sunday of Advent.
I started wondering about how often we stop and reflect upon these manger scenes during the busyness of Advent!?
I'm not sure it's often enough...
So I thought it would be a lovely tradition to begin our Christmas with a walk through our home,
meditating in prayer before each manger scene.
This year we will be doing this on Christmas Eve
but I also like the idea for Christmas morning.
I am sharing our path that we will follow this year for our first
Stations of the Manger.
I divided portions of the Manger Prayer into 4 smaller segments to be prayed as we move through our home and pause in front of 4 Manger scenes, ending with placing baby Jesus in the
These have been our gifts to Jesus.
My hope is to begin the Stations of the Manger tradition with the oldest child leading our procession by candlelight,
welcoming Jesus Christ, true light of the world.
Here is our path and the prayers to follow...
Station 1
Prayer:
"Lord Jesus as we kneel before your manger in adoration, let our first Christmas words be:
Thank You!
Thank you, Gift of the Father, for coming to save us from our sins.
Thank you for coming
as one like myself to save me from myself."
Station 2
Prayer:
"You come as a baby, because babies are irresistible and adorable.
You come as a baby because you want our first impression of God incarnate to be that of one who
does not judge. You alone are the Answer."
Station 3
Prayer:
"Word become flesh, you make your dwelling among us.
Come and live your life in us."
Station 4
Prayer:
A quote by St. Leo the Great:
"In the very act of reverencing the birth of Our Savior, we are also
celebrating our own new birth."
From this night on, may our lives be a dedicated life of faith marked
by holy reliance. May we make our life a total gift of self.
Final Station
Prayer:
"May your Presence, Prince of Peace, bless the world with peace.
Oh divine Fruit of Mary's womb,
May we love you in union with the
holy Mother of God.
We ask you this in your holy name.
Amen."
(If anyone would like a copy of these prayers and stations, feel free to send me an e-mail and I will share the Word Document)
Wishing you a Holy and Happy Christmas...
From Our House to Yours!
"The Word who found a dwelling in Mary’s womb comes to knock on the heart of every person with singular intensity each Christmas."
~Pope John Paul II~
