Prepare Him a Place: A Reflection for the Final Week of Advent

With just one week left until Christmas, it’s easy to be swept up in last-minute shopping, decorating, and preparing our homes for holiday visitors.

But while we ready our houses, Christ quietly invites us to prepare our hearts to receive Him. Our bodies and souls are temples of God, and surely the Son of Man deserves the most loving welcome we can offer Him.

As the countdown to Christmas shortens, Advent gently reminds us not to rush past these final days of waiting. It's a season meant not for haste, but for making room for the Savior.

During Advent, Jesus knocks softly on the doors of our souls. What will He find when He arrives?

What would we change if we knew the Savior was coming to visit us tomorrow, in the flesh?

St. Teresa of Calcutta offers a quiet challenge for this season:

“At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God's own love and concern.” -St. Teresa of Calcutta

How, then, do we warm our hearts for His coming?

Perhaps it begins with slowing down and choosing stillness long enough to listen for the Lord within the heart. This kind of stillness can be difficult amid the bustle of Christmas preparation, yet it is here that we tend our souls and find God.

We prepare by loving and serving others in imitation of Christ.

Through acts of mercy.

Through prayer for friends and enemies alike.

Through small sacrifices made for those in need.

By pouring love into others, just as Christ continually pours it into us.

Spend time with the mysteries of Christ’s infancy, from the Annunciation to the visit of the Wise Men.

Try not to be consumed by the noise of material preparation. Instead, tend to the soul and draw close to the Child who comes not only to be born, but to be sacrificed for our salvation.

Come, Lord Jesus, and find in us hearts made ready by love.