Pause and ponder

‘Mary stored these things up in her heart, reflecting on what they might mean’: so we read in Luke 2:19, and those words are picked up in this short prayer from my book The Little Book of Christmas Prayers. It  reminds us of the importance amid all the fun and festivities of this time of year of taking time to pause and ponder on what it is actually all about: the one at its centre – Jesus. Make this prayer, and the priceless gift of which it speaks, your own.

Pause and ponder

In the rush and bustle of this season, Lord,
with so much to remember and so much to do,
teach me to make time simply to pause
and to ponder what it all means.
Amen.