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For many Catholics, today (or next week, the Baptism of the Lord or Candlemas) is the day to take down Christmas decorations. Here’s a prayer to say to make it more meaningful:
“Lord Jesus, today we will put all of our Christmas decorations away. Soon, we will enter into Ordinary Time.
“Our house will look ordinary again, but Lord, you know and we know that our house has a secret. Deep inside it, all of our Christmas decorations are still here. The blessing of Christmas is always with us, kept in the deep, quiet places of the house.
“And Lord, our lives will become ordinary again, but you know that each of us has the grace of baptism. The grace you gave us is always with us, in the deep, quiet places of our soul.
“Help our house be a house with Christmas at its core, and help our souls be a place where Jesus always dwells. Help us live the grace of Christmas every day, only without all the trappings. Amen.”
Tom Hoopes, author of The Rosary of Saint John Paul II and The Fatima Family Handbook, is writer in residence at Benedictine College in Kansas and hosts The Extraordinary Story podcast about the life of Christ. A former reporter in the Washington, D.C., area, he served as press secretary of the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee Chairman and spent 10 years as executive editor of the National Catholic Register newspaper and Faith & Family magazine. His work frequently appears in Catholic publications such as Aleteia.org and the Register. He and his wife, April, have nine children and live in Atchison, Kansas.
