Yesterday, we began to consider how Jesus might be calling us to live our lives. While he was on Earth, Jesus showed us the way. If we want to know “the way,” we need only spend time getting to know the person of Jesus in the Gospels, from his birth to his crucifixion, death, and resurrection. There we can draw nearer to the person of Christ and the ways that he teaches us are holy and blessed.

Notice that I keep stressing “the person” of Jesus. We often want to keep Jesus above contemplating his divinity, rather than his humanity from below. Jesus walked the earth as a person among people. Like us he had options, feelings, conflicts, joys, sorrows, and all else that comes with being a human. He walked a specific path, and that path is our guide.

We tend to view the Holy Family “from above” too, forgetting that they walked the earth and faced great challenges and losses. Reading their stories in the Gospels “from below” gives us great insight into the way that they chose to live and the values that were important to them while they were on Earth.

Jesus also gave us a very specific guide to live by, the Beatitudes. Today, consider the values that Jesus taught and pray for a deeper understanding of the values Jesus is calling you to live by.

• Pray the Advent Prayer..

• Click the video below to listen to today’s song for reflection.

• Prayerfully read Matthew 5:1-12 and/or reflect on the second video below.

• Pray for the grace of a deeper understanding of the mind and heart of Jesus and a desire to follow him more closely.

Song: The Summons

The video above is optional for reflection on the Beatitudes.