6th day within the Octave of Christmas
1 Jn 2:12-17
Lk 2:36-40
Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.
I often wondered how Jesus’s childhood went by. Was it one which was uneventful, like a typical ordinary child? Did he also struggle with the usual issues that a young child of his age would face? The Gospels are silent on this but I am sure that throughout this process, it was a prayerful family. A prayerful family means a family which always remember to offer up their joys and struggles to the Lord.
The life of a Christian is not an easy one. There are struggles and challenges which we face from the secular world which often force us to make questions that wonder if we are doing the right thing. St John reminds us in the first reading that the world as we know it is passing away. As children of God, we should not be having a love for the world but instead focus on the heavenly kingdom. I struggle with this all the time because it is easy to get caught up with the issues in the world. The pleasures of the flesh and the pursuit of status and power is something that I really find it hard to push away. It is in situations like this that I believe that prayer is important for each one of us.
Prayer opens up the communication channels with God and allows us to discover what is God’s plan for us. Through the reading of Sacred Scripture and silent time with God, we discover for ourselves the plan which God has meant for us. The end of the calendar year allows us to discover the areas where we have grown and the areas where we have fallen short. Let us approach the Lord in thanksgiving for all that has come to us and ask Him to show the way for the future.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, let us discover the plan you have for us and let us not waver in our aim to achieve it.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all the people who have shown us love.
OXYGEN 
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