In this second week of Advent, Fr. Prabhu reflects on the Bethlehem Candle, the candle of peace. Just as Bethlehem—small, noisy, and unnoticed—was chosen to receive the Prince of Peace, so too our own hearts, often messy and overwhelmed, are the very places where Christ desires to enter. True peace, he reminds us, is not the absence of problems nor the ability to control life’s circumstances. Christian peace is not something but Someone—Christ Himself.

Through the story of a child assembling a world-map puzzle by focusing on the image of the Good Shepherd behind it, Fr. Prabhu shows that when Christ is at the center, the pieces of our lives come together. Peace begins in the heart, then flows to families and the world. As we light the Bethlehem candle, we pray: “Lord Jesus, enter the Bethlehem of our heart and bring peace to every broken piece of our lives.”

- Saturday Novena Devotion by Fr. Antony Prabhu, C.Ss.R. (6 December 2025)