REJOICE HEARTILY
The more we know
God the more we love Him, and the more we love Him greater we believe, and from
His promises we receive Hope, Peace and Healing in our lives. We will have true
Joy!
"A man named
John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that
all might believe through him...He said, 'I am the voice of one crying out in
the desert, make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said"
(Jn 1:6-7, 23).
Our baptism is not
just a once-in-a-lifetime event. Our descent into the waters of Christ's dying,
and our rising out of their depths filled with the life of Christ's Spirit is
an ongoing event. It immerses us continually in the life of Christ Jesus - the
spiritual dimension of our existence. But Christ cannot act in and through us
unless we attune our bodies, souls, and spirits to His presence and action
within us. St. Paul gives us some ways to do that: "Rejoice,"
"Pray," "Be grateful." Don't put out the fire of the
Spirit. Listen for the prophets among you. Be willing to try new ways of
thinking and acting, and then evaluate them keeping what is good!
Because of the life
of the Spirit within us, we have the inner freedom to turn our attention away
from life-sapping thoughts of gloom and doom so the joy of the Spirit can
bubble up. We can make choices to let go of negative or useless thoughts,
turning instead to a short expression of prayer. We can make it a point to
remember everyday to be grateful for something good: the breath of life, the
chance to work, the love of a friend, or some hoped for reconciliation between
individuals or groups. We can choose to listen to prophets who are speaking on
behalf of the poor and oppressed for justice and peace. We can take some risks
in connecting with our inner-selves, with other people and cultures, finding a
creative way to unity and peace.
Our first reading
today confirms all this. The prophet Isaiah says, "I rejoice heartily in
the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for He has clothed me with a robe of
salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with
a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels" (Is 61:10). The life of
the Spirit is in us, uniting us with God. The more we know God the more we love
Him, and the more we love Him greater we believe, and from His promises we
receive Hope, Peace and Healing in our lives. We will have true Joy!
What is the great
gift? It is the Word Incarnate, Jesus Christ. He shows us the way to our
heavenly Father. When we have a true relationship with Him, we will have a true
relationship with each other! Our challenge was given to us in the Opening
Prayer: "O God, who see how Your people faithfully await the feast of the
Lord's Nativity, enable us, we pray, to attain the joys of so great a salvation
and to celebrate them always with solemn worship and glad rejoicing."
Then with joy we
can proclaim together with Mary, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the
Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Lk 1:46-47).