Christmas Eve 2012
It has been a sacred week for me in many ways. So many blessings received...
And one more, unexpectedly comes my way, as snow begins to silently and gently fall. I go for a walk, watching big flakes slowly swirl and dance their way on their flight down from the heavens...
I began the morning with meditation, followed by listening to the most exquisite "Lessons and Carols," broadcast live from Cambridge, England.
It is a holy eve, morning, and day - soon to give way to the evening, which I spend first with my sister and her family, and then it will be off to a late evening Mass at Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown. There we will enjoy Christmas carols before the liturgy, sung by a full choir, and accompanied by a pipe organ and brass ensemble. Could there be a better way to ring in Christmas?
My heart is overflowing with gratitude and love for so many blessings received, and so many wonderful people in my life. I am truly blessed.
And so, I leave you now with these quotes - little known to many - but very inspirational, and worthy of reflection on this joyous season.
May you, and yours be filled with blessings. May you receive love. May your heart know joy and peace!
"As each one of us embraces Christmas fully, we can become true peacemakers, as was the divine Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, whose birth is the symbol of eternal hope and peace."
– Sri Daya Mata (from Self-Realization Magazine, Winter 2006; Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA. All rights reserved).
"Doesn't almost everyone feel aglow with happiness at Christmas time? There is a deep spiritual reason. It isn't just the pleasure of exchanging gifts and loving messages, and doing for others. [Paramahansa Yogananda] said that on the birthdays of great ones such as Jesus, there is tremendous rejoicing in heaven. Vibrations of that celestial joy permeate the atmosphere. Those who have open and loving hearts are stirred by it, and those who strive for deeper attunement through devotion and meditation fully participate in that sublime celebration. The degree to which we are in tune with heaven's joyous recognition of Jesus' birth depends upon the effort we make to commune with Christ -- not just in the outward spiritual festivities in his honor, but in the inner temple of deep meditation."
– Sri Daya Mata (from Self-Realization Magazine, Winter 2006; Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA. All rights reserved).
And one more, unexpectedly comes my way, as snow begins to silently and gently fall. I go for a walk, watching big flakes slowly swirl and dance their way on their flight down from the heavens...
I began the morning with meditation, followed by listening to the most exquisite "Lessons and Carols," broadcast live from Cambridge, England.
It is a holy eve, morning, and day - soon to give way to the evening, which I spend first with my sister and her family, and then it will be off to a late evening Mass at Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown. There we will enjoy Christmas carols before the liturgy, sung by a full choir, and accompanied by a pipe organ and brass ensemble. Could there be a better way to ring in Christmas?
My heart is overflowing with gratitude and love for so many blessings received, and so many wonderful people in my life. I am truly blessed.
And so, I leave you now with these quotes - little known to many - but very inspirational, and worthy of reflection on this joyous season.
May you, and yours be filled with blessings. May you receive love. May your heart know joy and peace!
"As each one of us embraces Christmas fully, we can become true peacemakers, as was the divine Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, whose birth is the symbol of eternal hope and peace."
– Sri Daya Mata (from Self-Realization Magazine, Winter 2006; Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA. All rights reserved).
"Doesn't almost everyone feel aglow with happiness at Christmas time? There is a deep spiritual reason. It isn't just the pleasure of exchanging gifts and loving messages, and doing for others. [Paramahansa Yogananda] said that on the birthdays of great ones such as Jesus, there is tremendous rejoicing in heaven. Vibrations of that celestial joy permeate the atmosphere. Those who have open and loving hearts are stirred by it, and those who strive for deeper attunement through devotion and meditation fully participate in that sublime celebration. The degree to which we are in tune with heaven's joyous recognition of Jesus' birth depends upon the effort we make to commune with Christ -- not just in the outward spiritual festivities in his honor, but in the inner temple of deep meditation."
– Sri Daya Mata (from Self-Realization Magazine, Winter 2006; Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA. All rights reserved).
"Make
your heart an altar of Christ-love -- which lives in all races and
loves them equally -- so that you may love all people, seeing in their
body-temples the dwelling place of omnipresent Christ… Exchange gifts
as offerings to the Christ in all; and on the Christmas tree of your
calm consciousness, richly decorated and glistening with divine soul
qualities, place for him the gift of your heart."
– from The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You
by Paramahansa Yogananda (Self-Realization Fellowship,
Los Angeles, CA. All rights reserved).
Comments