As we gather on this final Saturday of Advent, our readings resonate with a profound message of hope, joy, and divine presence. In the passage from Zephaniah, we are invited to "shout for joy" and to exult because the Lord has removed our judgment and is with us as our Savior. This proclamation speaks to us as we come to the concluding days of Advent—preparing for the arrival of our King, who brings peace and dispels our fears.
Shouting for joy. Can we? Can we truly shout for joy? Are we at a place yet, spiritually speaking, to be able to not only feel joy, which is a more permanent state than just feeling a bit happy once in a while… but to feel that deep and abiding peaceful joy which is a fruit of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but which comes to us through knowing and living God’s will?
This advent, we have been summoned to the opportunity to make changes—the necessary alteration in our lives which will propel us forward on our spiritual paths. We have been asked to make sacrifices in three principal areas: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. How did we do? Did we make an effort? Did we even consider these disciplines which the Church has continually proposed before us?
In the Gospel, we encounter Mary, who, filled with grace, hastens to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Here we see the Mother of God just filled with joy in the recent events which she experienced at the Annunciation.
Here, this humble, young, and fully alive and sinless virgin, is approached by a heavenly being, the splendour of which words cannot fully and adequately describe, and she’s hurrying to Elizabeth with the news. Their meeting could not be anything but a beautiful manifestation of joy as Elizabeth recognizes Mary as the mother of her Lord, and the very presence of Jesus in Mary causes the unborn John to leap for joy. This scene echoes Zephaniah's invitation: joy is the result of God's presence among us and more poignantly, through the power of the Holy Spirit, within us! Mary and Elizabeth were rejoicing at something very real happening within them, literally. How about what’s within me? Am I filled with joy at what’s in me? Does Christ dwell there? Do I find within myself a heart ready to serve and love God with utmost determination? Or is it a house of lukewarmness that Jesus finds therein?
As we stand on the brink of Christmas, let us examine this spirit of joy in our hearts. Materially, we may lack nothing, and to that we say glory be to God. But spiritually, we may be poor. We may be wanting. We may be yearning. If this is the case, the more we give ourselves to others, the more spiritually strong we will become, but only through prayer, and only through prayer that is engaged with a good, clean, purified conscience that has been made so through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where the blood of the Lamb of God, born for us in the cold abandoned cave of Bethlehem, sets us free, and gives us a renewed spirit and fervour to embrace our Lord and God.
Like Mary, who was pure in heart and spirit, let us also rush with cleanliness towards those in need, sharing the blessings we have received. Let us trust in God’s promises and find our strength in the knowledge that He is indeed in our midst. May we, too, rejoice over one another, celebrating the infinite love God has for each of us. And let us in these concluding days, thank with profound gratitude the Blessed Virgin Mary who has accompanied us always and shows us what true joy in Christ really means.
Our Lady, Bearer of Good News, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Amen.
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