Joy is very infectious; therefore, be always full of joy.

Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love. – Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Gospel text (Lk 1,39-45):
Mary set out in those days
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

The words of Mary's cousin will travel through time: «Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!» (Lk 1:42).

The gospel reading today reminds us to be joyful. When was the last time you praised and thanked God in joy? I think we often find ourselves telling God our problems and asking him for things. There is nothing wrong with that. But I do think that exulting, being extremely joyful, to God is equally, if not more, important than asking God to help us with this or that. So, let’s try something new, let’s “Sing to him a new song” (Psalm 33:3).

Let's sit back, take a deep breath in and exhale out. Now think of someone you are blessed to have in your life. A friend, your spouse, a family member - someone who has made you smile, someone who has been there through the thick and thin. Think of the joy you feel when around him or her. Let us thank God in joy for having put these special people in our lives.

Let us take another deep breath in and exhale out. Right now, you are alive, fully and truly. We have each been given these beautiful lives to live. Let us thank God for the joy of this life, for it has allowed us to do so many things.

Joy is indivisible from faith. «But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?» (Lk 1:43). The joy of God and Mary has spread all over the world. To allow it within us, we need only to open ourselves through our faith to God's constant influence in our life, while walking our path with the Infant, with She who has believed, by holding St. Joseph's strong and enamored hand. Earthen paths, asphalt, cobblestones or muddy roads through, any Christian always carries upon him, two dimensions of faith: the union with God and the service to others.

Let us remember this Advent season that God has given us so many blessings and that we should sing out joyfully to him. As John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb at the mere presence of Jesus, let us leap for joy for the life we are given and the people God has blessed us with.

Merry, almost-Christmas.