JOY IN OUR SPIRIT!
The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us all, to enable us to know and
experience His presence dwelling within us.
I read
the following commentary, today:
On
Christmas Day in 1886, the teenage Paul Claudel experienced a conversion of
heart while listening to a choir singing Vespers in the Cathedral of Notre Dame
in Paris. His conversion led him back to the Catholic Faith of his childhood.
Later, he would become a prominent French poet, dramatist and diplomat.
"In an instant," he said, "my heart was touched, and I
believed."
With
Christmas fast approaching, let us prepare ourselves to be touched by the quiet
joy of the Nativity of the Lord. "Joy," Claudel also said, "is
the most infallible sign of the presence of God." We will have that joy
when we recognize the indwelling Presence of the Lord Jesus in our lives! How
blessed we are if we see and recognize the Lord with the eyes of faith.
As we
reflect on Luke's Gospel for today, we get a sense of the joy that accompanied
Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the
child in her womb "leaped for joy" (Lk 1:44) - recognizing the
Messiah present in Mary's womb, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and they
joyfully anticipated the fulfillment of God's promise - to send a Savior. The
Holy Spirit is God's gift to us all, to enable us to know and experience His
presence dwelling within us. In the Responsorial Psalm, we acclaim,
"Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to Him a new song" (Ps 33:1a;
3a). Our souls wait for the Lord. May our hearts rejoice when He comes this
Christmas!