Christmas

Dear Father,

Today is no ordinary day. Today marks the anniversary of your Son's birth. Today, we remember You. Today, we remember our purpose. Today, we shall not mourn. Today, we celebrate in a new hope. Today, we undergo a process of self-reflection. Today, we resolve. Today, we promise. Today, we renew and re-establish our faith. Today, we believe. Today, we wait.

Christmas is no grand festival. Today, the world views Christmas as a royal celebration and for businessman, a grand opportunity to make money, as though it's a huge party commemorating the birthday of mankind. However, the unfortunate note is that Christians do not recognize or deeply contemplate on the significance of Christmas - a Christian celebration. Christmas, being celebrated at the end of the year, should be a time for self-reflection, a period of renewal of our faith and spirit. But a significant proportion, if not most, of Christians - especially youths - around the world take the former perspective, regrettably. These people deem this celebration as an obligatory event. Is it not saddening to hear that certain people are going for mass on Christmas not in the spirit of a new hope and renewal of faith, but that of a "must-go" mentality?

Lord, I come before You humbled and in total reverence.

Lord, wash me clean so that I may come before You purified and stainless.

Lord, today I want to thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon my family and I this year. There's just too much that you've given me. I see the sufferings of the unfortunate, the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the hopeless, the godless, and those in destitute. I've witnessed to these encounters. And it hurts me to see them. It hurts so much. And I look back at my own life, at the many gifts you've showered upon me. I feel so sorry for these people. I want to make a difference for them, even in the simplest way I can. Help me, Lord. Your blessings overshadow all the negativity in my life. Thank you for these blessings. Thank you for helping me see life in this positive perspective. I pray these people - and everybody else - may do so as well, only then will we feel blessed.

Lord, today I want to re-affirm my faith in you in a new hope of salvation and your coming. Help me to focus on You. Re-establish our relationship, Lord. Help me mend the broken pieces, fix the dents and salvage the decayed portions. Help my faith to grow complete. Help me to obey You, for faith should not be a stagnant belief; it requires an action, a response. And that response lies in our obedience towards you. Help me to re-believe in your covenant, in your most glorifying deed, in your coming.

Lord, today I look back and I see the many footprints left behind in my life journey and my walk with You. There were many ups and downs. It has not been an easy adventure. It's tiring, but you were there to water, feed and piggyback me when I needed you. Thank you for that, Lord. And I admit I've walked many wrong paths. I confess I've disobeyed you and remained stubbornly in my relentless and self-sufficient ways. I acknowledge I've committed countless wrongdoings against you and my neighbours which in turn are directed to you, for what we do unto others, we do unto you. Father, please forgive me. I'm so sorry. I know you know it. Help me not to repeat the same mistakes I've done. It's difficult, but I won't give up. Help me to understand and remember You upon seeing only one set of footprints - that You've been carrying me on Your back, and shouldering all my burdens for me.

Lord, today I want to be renewed. I want to become more like You. Mold me, Lord, into Your Christ-likeness as time drifts by. Help me to care and love my neighbour indifferently, regardless of race, religion, appearance, class, status or background, for You died for ALL of us. You loved us impartially and unconditionally. Help me to grow closer to You in the new year. Help me to develop a more powerful, effective and spiritual prayer life, for what's life without prayer? What's life without being able to hear Your comforting, soft, fatherly and tender voice? And Lord, help me not to leave my Bible in the shelf to be buried in the dust. Help me, despite the inconvenience and laziness that I may feel, to read your word daily. Help me not to see it as a mandatory program, but as an act of love, and of a desire to know You more, for reading Your word is the only way we can know You better and more intimately. Help me to have that kind of desire, to hunger and thirst for Your word, for we live not by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Lord, I do not wish to be perfect. I do not wish to be saint-like and perfectly holy. I do not wish that one day I could be as holy as the Pope. I strive to be like You, but I have no such desire.

Lord, I just want to love You more. And you know that from the depths of my heart. I just want to make a difference for my family, my friend, and even for a stranger, however small that difference may be. Use me, Lord, in any way you want as you deem fit, to change, to influence, to help. That small difference I make makes my day. And this shall remain true forever, hopefully.

Thank You, Lord, for everything.

And Lord, happy birthday.

Amen.