Daily reflection _ joy in our spirit

JOY IN OUR SPIRIT!
"Joy," Claudel also said, "is the most infallible sign of the presence of God."
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
I read in one of the commentaries for today that on Christmas Day of 1886, while listening to a choir singing the evening vespers service in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, the teenage Paul Claudel - who would become a prominent French poet, dramatist, and diplomat - experienced a conversion back to the Catholic faith of his childhood. "In an instant," he said, "my heart was touched, and I believed." With Christmas in this Holy Year 2015 fast approaching, may we ready ourselves to be touched by and believe in 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! Blessed are you and I if we see and recognize the Lord with the "eyes of faith."
As we reflect on the Gospel of Luke today we can see the "joy" in Mary's visit to Elizabeth. The visit as we know happen before the birth of Jesus Christ. When Elizabeth greeted Mary she recognized the Messiah in Mary's womb. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and with a joyful anticipation of the fulfillment of God's promises to give us a Savior.
Points to Pray and Ponder: The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us all to enable us to know and experience the indwelling presence of God. Our soul waits for the Lord, may our hearts rejoice this Christmas!