In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here,

that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I ask your pardon for my sins, and the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful.

My immaculate Mother, St. Joseph, my Father and Lord, my guardian angel intercede for me.

This time of prayer during this day of recollection is tremendously important for us.

After all, it is our chance to prepare ourselves for the feast of Christmas,

for the coming of the Christ child.

It is a perfect time for us to consider one of the deepest realities of our life,

which is our divine filiation.

That phrase, divine filiation. That phrase divine filiation means something as basic as it can get. Our filiation, the fact that we are children of God. This is not just a topic, but rather the deepest truth about our identity.

We are children of God, children of our Creator, our Father, our Redeemer, our Sanctifier.

Consider the words, these thrilling words, that we will hear on Christmas Day.

In the first place, words in the Divine Office, where St. Leo the Great says, Christian, acknowledge your dignity, becoming a partaker in the divine nature.

Acknowledge your dignity.

Remember the head and the body of which you are a member

by the mystery of baptism you were made a temple of the Holy Spirit

these words really are thrilling.

Acknowledge, recognize, bask in your dignity

because you are a child of God,

because you share in the divine nature.

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