Author: Texas OP Nuns

\”This is the real commitment of Advent: to bring joy to others. Joy is the true gift of Christmas.\” –Pope Benedict XVI

At the root of today\’s gospel is joy–which is one of the fruits of the holy Spirit. Joy permeates this story. Joy is most notably in the heart of our Lady who not only travels to visit her cousin Elizabeth, but makes haste in the effort. Joy is also experienced by the babies in the womb, tumbling about in the darkness, as they hear the dialogue of their mothers and sense each other near. 

Joy comes from Love, and God is love. Thus, the more we are united with him, the more joyful we will be, even in the midst of dark times. The joy of the Trinity goes beyond the fleeting joys of this world, beyond the gifts we give and receive for Christmas, and remains in the heart until the soul is drawn up to Jesus in the heavenly court. Today we pray for this joy, and we pray that all mankind will feel it in the complete gift of self. In this way, we too can mirror the joy of Mary and Elizabeth and rejoice that we have a Lord who will be with us forever.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!

In these, or similar words from the Entrance Chant and the second Scripture reading today from the Letter to the Philippians, the Church cries out with joy in the house of God. There are few Sundays in the Church year so charged with gladness as today. What is the reason for so much joy in the midst of this preparation for Christmas? The good news: \”the Lord is near.\”

The Lord is close to us through grace, which is His presence flowing from the sacraments. Paul tells us in Philippians what a Christian must be, how one must act, and the spirit that should animate the heart. The life of grace in our souls shows itself by hearing good fruit in our lives, especially the four fruits of \”goodness, trust in God, prayer and peace\”. Christ is present invisibly among us, in the hidden form of sanctifying grace. This too is the joyful message of the Gospel: Christ is in our midst through grace.

 

Grace makes us a child of God. Only a person of grace can approach God as a loving Father.  Prayer is the key to God\’s heart. Every prayer is answered even though what we ask for is given to us in another form. Through prayer in time of trial we find comfort and strength, no matter the external outcome. Grace is the divine life within us that enables us to be at peace with ourselves, with God, and with our neighbor. Peace is a special fruit on the tree of grace. It is Christ\’s peace that enables us to be satisfied with our lot in life. Peace and joy go together. Grace is the solid foundation for true Christian joy. A person living in God\’s grace is content and happy knowing that he or she is loved and cared for by God.

\”God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground, that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God\” (Baruch 5:7) Here Baruch records for us the return of the Israelites from their exile in Babylon. It reminds us of the crossing of the Red Sea–an event in which the Israelites marched amidst the wall of seawater and tread on dry ground as they escaped on their way to the land of freedom. As we set out on our own journey toward the land of freedom during this Advent time, we remember that as we face the challenges of life we have a God who is faithful–who gave to Moses and Abraham the strength of faith to trust and believe in the Lord who clothes the flowers of the field and feeds the birds of the sky. He will give us this same faith if only we ask Him for it!

The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary is a powerful example of God\’s largess–a magnificent gift to Mary and through her to all humanity, indeed all creation. With a certain measure of risk, God created the first man and woman with free will and they abused that gift by choosing to disobey God\’s commands regarding life in the Garden of Eden. When, in the fullness of time, God was ready to begin His new creation, He chose another sinless pair, Christ His Son and Mary of Nazareth. A familiar hymn, which we sing frequently at the Liturgy of the Hours, summarizes this story so well:

When, in His own image

God created man,

He included freedom

In creation\’s plan…

God to man entrusted

Life as gift and aim.

Sin became our prison,

Turning hope to shame…

Then in time, our make

Chose to intervene…

So that man\’s devotion

Newly might begin.

The Immaculate Conception is God\’s first intervention in his plan for his new creation. He once entrusted humanity\’s future to a \”frail humble maiden\”, creating her sinless at her conception so that in complete freedom, she would be able to choose to obey God\’s will and so offer to her brothers and sisters in all generations the incalculable gift not only of true freedom, but also of everlasting salvation through the Son she accepted to bear when at the Annunciation she said YES to God rather than Adam and Eve\’s NO.  

We turn to Mary then, as the perfect model of faithfulness to God and ask her: O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you. 

The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah. In those days, in that time, I will raise up for David a just shoot; he will do what is right and  just in the land. In those days Judah shall be safe and Israel shall dwell secure; this is what they shall call her: \”The Lord our justice.\” 

— Jeremiah 33:14-16

Happy New Year! These words of the prophet Jeremiah are a hopeful beginning for our new liturgical year. Today is like a new school year in which we will be educated and formed by the mysteries of Christ\’s life proclaimed every time the Liturgy is celebrated.  

The Lord is coming, and every year we have a time to prepare our hearts and minds to be more aware of this and to welcome his coming to us. We are preparing for Christ\’s coming at Bethlehem and at the end of time. But He also comes to us every moment of every day. Let us ask Him for the grace to welcome Him every day: in the joyful and difficult moments, in temptations and in prayer, in small and great events, in our neighbors and friends, and in each stranger we encounter. An Advent well spent will bring forth God\’s special blessings and make us stronger in Faith, Hope and Charity.