Make Room For What Truly Matters

Objectives

At the end of the session, participants are expected to:

1.     To become aware of what fills our hearts during the Christmas season.

2.     To rediscover the call to make intentional time and space for God, for our families, and for our own spiritual renewal

3.     To cultivate gratitude, silence, and hope as we reflect on the year that has passed and welcome Christ into our hearts anew

Expanded Outline

I. Introduction

As we gather together for this blessed season, we enter a time often described as “the most wonderful time of the year.” And yet, for many of us, it can also be one of the busiest, noisiest, and most overwhelming. Today, we pause to breathe, to reflect, and to refocus. We come together to rediscover what this season is truly about and to make space for what matters most: the presence, peace, and love of Christ.

II. Filled With Many Things

As we enter the most wonderful time of the year, our days quickly become filled with so many things - gift shopping, parties, reunions, deadlines, and the pressure to meet goals before the year ends. Without realizing it, the season that is meant to bring peace and joy can instead feel heavy and overwhelming. In the midst of all this movement, our hearts begin to fill up but not always with what brings us closer to Christ. Far too often, our hearts fill with things that distract us from what is essential.

1.     We become filled with expectations.

Christmas often brings with it the desire for everything to be perfect: the perfect celebration, the perfect gifts, the perfect family moments. Social media adds pressure, showing curated images of “ideal Christmases” that can make us feel inadequate or behind. We expect ourselves to meet everyone’s needs, to create magical experiences, and to make everything turn out beautifully. But these expectations can leave us tired, frustrated, or disappointed. We end up preparing for a “picture-perfect Christmas” instead of preparing space in our hearts for Jesus.

2.     We become filled with regrets.

As the year ends, we naturally reflect on everything that has happened — and sometimes on everything that didn’t happen. We remember our failures, missed opportunities, or dreams that didn’t unfold the way we hoped. We think of relationships we didn’t mend or goals we didn’t reach. These regrets quietly occupy space in our hearts, making it harder to receive the joy and blessing of the season. Instead of seeing God’s faithfulness, we focus on where we feel we have fallen short.

3.     We become filled with worry.

Along with busyness and reflection, worries also begin to surface. “Will I have enough for the expenses this season?” “Will my family be okay?” “What will next year bring?” Tensions sometimes rise during reunions, and finances may feel stretched. The uncertainties ahead can make us anxious. 

All these expectations, regrets, and worries can crowd our hearts. And when our hearts are overcrowded, there is little room left for the One this season is truly about. Just as there was “no room in the inn,” we too sometimes struggle to make space for Christ in the busyness of our lives. But Christmas invites us to pause — and come home to the true reason for this season: Christ Himself.

III. Make Time For What Matters

Christmas is God’s gentle invitation to pause, breathe, and return to what truly matters. It calls us to come home to the heart of the season. Jesus does not ask for a perfect schedule or a perfectly arranged life. He simply asks for our openness. He desires a heart that welcomes Him, even imperfectly. This is why we are invited to make space for Christ: to clear away the noise, the clutter, and the busyness that keep us from receiving His presence.

a. Make time for God.

It does not have to be grand or complicated. A few minutes of quiet prayer, a short Scripture reading, a heartfelt visit to the Blessed Sacrament. These are small openings through which God pours great grace. When we choose Him in the midst of a busy season, we say: “Lord, You are more important than everything else I could be doing right now.”

b. Make time for family.

Christmas is not just about gatherings; it is about presence, forgiveness, healing, and love. Being truly present such putting away our phones, listening deeply, sharing simple conversations. These become powerful ways to allow Christ’s love to flow through us. Many families long for connection more than perfect plans. In choosing presence, we give our loved ones the greatest gift: ourselves.

c. Make time for ourselves.

Rest is not selfish, it is stewardship. Jesus Himself withdrew to quiet places to pray and renew His spirit. When we allow ourselves to rest, breathe, and reflect, we create space within us where God can speak and heal. We renew our spirit so that we can love and serve again fully, generously, and joyfully in the new year ahead.

IV. Make Space and Be Filled With What Matters

As we slow down, this sacred season also invites us to look back at the year that was to recognize how God has been moving in our lives. This season offers us the sacred space to reflect, prayerfully and honestly, on where we have been and where God is gently leading us. And as we do these, we are called to make room for what matters.

“Let us make room in our heart for the Lord, who comes.” — Pope Benedict XVI

a. Fill your thoughts with Gratitude 

Let us take time to remember God’s faithfulness this year. As we look back on the months that passed, gratitude becomes a lens that helps us see our year differently. There may have been moments of struggle, disappointment, or confusion, but even in those moments, God remained faithful. Gratitude helps us notice the quiet ways He carried us through challenges, the unexpected blessings that arrived when we needed them most, the people who supported us, and the strength we discovered within ourselves.

b. Fill your days with Silence 

Let us take time to listen to what God has been saying throughout the year. Looking back, we realize that many moments passed so quickly that we barely had time to process them. We moved from one task to another, one concern to another, often without pausing long enough to hear God’s whisper.

Silence becomes a gift at the end of the year. This is a moment to breathe, to listen, to gather the threads of the months behind us. In the quiet, we begin to understand what God may have been teaching us through each season: the lessons learned through trials, the growth that came from waiting, the clarity that emerged after moments of confusion. 

“In the silence of the stable in Bethlehem, God speaks to us.” — Pope Francis

Just as the first Christmas night was quiet and still, we too need silence to receive the deeper meaning of our own journey. In the quiet, we realize that God has been speaking all along through experiences, through people, through our desires, and even through our struggles. Silence lets the year “settle” in our hearts so we can see it through God’s eyes.

c. Fill your heart with Hope 

Let us take time to surrender everything and trust God with the year ahead. As we reflect on the year behind us, we naturally begin to think about what is to come. Hope becomes the bridge between what has been and what will be. We may see unfinished prayers, unresolved situations, or uncertainties about the future but Christmas reminds us that God enters our story exactly where it feels incomplete. To make space for hope is to acknowledge that God has been faithful before, and He will remain faithful in the year to come. Hope does not deny the challenges; instead, it declares that Christ will walk with us through them. Hope tells us that God is not finished with our story and that whatever lies ahead, He will be there bringing light, healing, and renewal.

V. Conclusion

When we intentionally make room for what matters most, and when we allow Christ’s loving presence to fill our hearts and our homes, Christmas becomes not just a date on the calendar or a festive celebration. It becomes a homecoming of the heart - a return to the God who comes close to us with tenderness, humility, and unconditional love.

Discussion Group Questions:

1.     Expectations, regrets, or worry: which among these tends to fill your heart the most during this season? Why?

2.     What are you being called to make room for this season?

3.     How can you make room for Christ in your heart and in your home?