Christmas Message:
Preparation for Christmas

I conceive Christmas as the birthday of Jesus, the burgeoning of Christ's spring in the heart of each of us. Therefore, when I decide to give Christmas presents to friends and relatives, I choose them with all of my love and care to offer it to the Divine Being that the beloved person is.

Furthermore, I appreciate having a special gift for the God-Infant on Christmas evening. Each December I spend the whole month creating my gift to Him, but not always on the physical level. At first I ask the God-Holy Ghost inspiration, so that my gift may be a jewel of light.

For instance, once the form to be created was a pillow. I spent some days sewing the fabric of the pillow with blue light brought from my heart. Then, I mentally embroidered it with golden threads that formed the shape of Brazil's map, with a five point star in its center. I filled the pillow with clouds and perfumed it with myrrh. While meditating on that gift, I thought that I would like to make it a surprise but that was impossible, because He, living in each one of us, sees and reads all thoughts.

Last year, although I asked the Holy Ghost the inspiration for the gift, I could have no innovative idea. Moreover, it is not easy to find something suitable to please the God- Infant. The date was already December 17th and... nothing! I was already really worried.

Then, while I slept during the next night, I felt a very strong wind that pushed me through time and I came to stop in the city of Bethlehem, the day before Jesus' birth. That was a quite weird feeling in regard to time, as it was past, present and future happening there, at that moment.

Something very special was in the air, something that uplifted thinking and feelings. Many people walking in the streets seemed to be in deep meditation, as their faces showed gentleness and serenity. But their eyes were shining, indicating that they were expecting for something very special.

Then it came to my mind the following thought: it is a great privilege to be here now and conscious that, in a short time, the Great Instructor of men and angels will become incarnated in a human body and to know, beforehand, about the whole story. I even know that he will be born in a stable, in a certain Bethlehem cave. Well, that's the maximum one can expect! What can I do to welcome him with more dignity and love?

Suddenly my mind began to analyse my inner self in search for the talents given to me by God. I then found that I was very good in cleaning and embellishing whatever I saw in front of me.

Happy, and with my heart overflowing the essences of beauty and enthusiasm, I came to the Bethlehem cave. Still outside of it, I felt an unbearable bad smell of mold and manure. Its interior view was discouraging. Animals splashed in a mud and manure swamp. Cows, calves, donkeys, goats and sheep, all of them were filthy, smelling badly and full of ticks. The manger had just molded grass and spider nets.

I had the ability to move in time and space with much ease and with no effort. Because of this I got home and caught everything I needed for the task I intended to do. I brought a shovel, a hoe, a wheelbarrow and began to scrape the animals' excrements and bringing all that to a faraway place. I carried many buckets with water and washed all of the stone ground of the cave until it became very clean.

I took away all ticks that covered each animal, I gave them a good bath and spread on their fur a perfumed patchouli tea. I got some everlasting flower from my garden and wove flower garlands to put around the neck of each one. They smiled at me, proud of their new look. Then, solemnly and with authority, I told them: "From now on, you are prohibited to defecate here! Do it outside, in the bush! Help me to keep this place deserving the Live God who will shortly be among us!"

Right after that, I took away all of that molded grass that was in the manger. I got back to my herbarium and, with all reverence, I picked the most delicate and perfumed herbs, with priority to the primitiae, that is, the ones collected for the first time. With these noble herbs I arranged in the manger a soft, perfumed and comfortable cradle.

Mentally, I told the elemental beings of those herbs that they were blessed because they would be in intimate contact with the body of the sweet Rabbi. I also picked many lavender leaves. I spread half of them on the ground, together with many rose petals and I burned the rest in the incense burner, to perfume the cave air.

Suddenly, a sweet glare filled the cave with a peach-like pink light. It was the Secret Love Star, the Star of Nativity, an immense body of light coming from God's heart that hovered above the cave. Its powerful and subtle rays were the essence of Pure Divine Love. Those rays travelled across and impregnated everything, including stones, making them shine.

The animals' expression was that of being in heaven. Evening was already beginning. The air got filled with a delicate and soft music. It was the chorus of angels arriving for the great and so long awaited occasion.

I looked at the place, now totally transformed and I became immensely happy because everything was beautiful and perfect. I was enchanted with that moment and then I wished ardently it could become eternal for me and for everyone. Out of my control I began returning to my body.

When I woke up I perceived that I was no longer the same person. I had a feeling of bliss that continued for months. From that moment on I felt within my head a small replica of the Secret Star of Love, a sweet sun that filled my mind with beautiful and loving thoughts.

Now I could perceive that the Bethlehem Cave was my heart (The word Bethlehem means House of the Bread). All of that cleaning and embellishment I did in the past was present in my heart.

I began thinking about the future and an internal voice told me that the Earth will become a new Paradise, as there will be a great expansion of Christ's Presence in each heart. Then I asked what I could do so that future could happen shortly. The reply was that I should write about everything I had lived, so that maybe this way other people could follow the idea of cleaning and embellishing their cave-heart, find their dormant talents and put them at the feet of the Infant Jesus at Christmas Evening, as this is a magic moment and it deserves to be prepared and greatly expected.

The consequence of this attitude is that, during the whole year, one's interior voice always asks: "What can I do for his arrival to be glorious?" Past, present and future blend into now and here in order to work, to love and to consecrate our existence to see Him, to serve Him and to honour Him in each heart.