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

The loss of joy does not make the world better - and, conversely, refusing joy for the sake of suffering does not help those who suffer. The contrary is true. The world needs people who discover the good, who rejoice in it and thereby derive the impetus and courage to do good. – Pope Benedict XVI

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.”

God’s greeting to Mary that we translate as “Hail Mary” literally means rejoice, be glad: it is an invitation to know joy. How easily we might think of God’s plan for our lives as somehow burdensome, our calling as fraught with the fears and anxieties which become obstacles to so many of the young today. With Our Lady we hear the angel’s words: “do not be afraid, you have found favor with God” (Lk.1:31). How much we need to hear those words again today in all our callings.

In this joyful mystery we glimpse how God invites and does not impose, seeking our consent so that we are ready to say freely and wholeheartedly with Mary in each of our lives: “let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). How much I pray today that every one of us may see like Mary that we have a part to play in God’s plan for salvation. In Pope Benedict’s words “bringing forth Christ to the world.”

A new generation surely needs our encouragement, our prayer and looks to the example of our perseverance and joy.

Who? Me? How?

"Love our Lady. And she will obtain abundant grace to help you conquer in your daily struggle." --St. Josemaria Escriva

Gospel Text: (MT 1:18-25)
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.

For those of us who have heard/read this excerpt a multitude of times, it is easy for us to be desensitized to Mary’s amazing faith in the Lord. Today, we are challenged to think about how immensely powerful her faith was, and to reflect on our own faith in God. When we hear a calling to be a certain person, or to do something that we may not want to do, in order to be the person God intended us to be, will we accept that call?

As you go about your day today, try to say “yes” to God in as many ways as you can. Start by saying “yes” with your heart when God tells you that you are special to him, so special that no one fills your place in his heart but you.

Keep that “yes” in your heart and in the spring in your step. And try your best to spread this confidence to everyone you know.

'Listen and attend with the ear of your heart.' - Faith comes from listening.

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.” --Blessed Mother Teresa

Gospel text (Lc 1,5-25):
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah, belonging to the priestly clan of Abiah. Elizabeth, Zechariah's wife, also belonged to a priestly family. Both of them were upright in the eyes of God and lived blamelessly in accordance with all the laws and commands of the Lord, but they had no child. Elizabeth could not have any and now they were both very old.

Now, while Zechariah and those with him were fulfilling their office, it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priests, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. At the time of offering incense all the people were praying outside; it was then that an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. On seeing the angel, Zechariah was deeply troubled and fear took hold of him. But the angel said to him, «Don't be afraid, Zechariah, be assured that your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall name him John. He will bring joy and gladness to you and many will rejoice at his birth. This son of yours will be great in the eyes of the Lord. Listen: he shall never drink wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. Through him many of the people of Israel will turn to the Lord their God. He himself will open the way to the Lord with the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah; he will reconcile fathers and children, and lead the disobedient to wisdom and righteousness, in order to make ready for the Lord a people prepared».

Zechariah said to the angel, «How can I believe this? I am an old man and my wife is elderly, too». The angel replied, «I am Gabriel, who stands before God, and I am the one sent to speak to you and bring you this good news! My words will come true in their time. But you would not believe and now you will be silent and unable to speak until this has happened».

Meanwhile the people waited for Zechariah, and they were surprised that he delayed so long in the sanctuary. When he finally appeared, he could not speak to them and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He remained dumb and made signs to them. When his time of service was completed, Zechariah returned home and some time later Elizabeth became pregnant. For five months she kept to herself, remaining at home, and thinking, «What is the Lord doing for me! This is his time for mercy and for taking away my public disgrace».

John the Baptist was formed by the Holy Spirit, not just stirred. The Spirit moved in him from the womb, but John responded by going into the desert so that the Spirit could teach him. He chose an environment where distractions were fewer so that he could keep his attention on God.

And what a difference that made! John may have been an unusual figure, but his testimony rang true. Because he learned to listen to the Spirit, he could speak words of repentance that drew crowds of people back to the Lord.

The closer we get to Christmas, the busier we can get. So many things can distract us. Don’t let that happen! In this week before Christmas, make an extra effort to set aside time for the Lord. Put aside the distractions of life, and focus on him. Ask the Spirit to do more than just stir you; ask him to transform you. Then see how his fruits of joy, peace, patience, and kindness shine forth from you this Christmas!

“Anything under God's control is never out of control.”

”When we have once placed ourselves entirely in the hands of God, we need apprehend no evil; if adversity comes, He knows how to turn it to our advantage, by means which will in time be manifested to us.” - Saint Vincent de Paul

Gospel text: (MT 1:18-25)
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”

When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.

Did you ever go through a time when you felt that God was not with you?

The promise made to St. Joseph in today’s gospel was that the result of his openness to cooperating with God’s plan would be: “God is with us.” Joseph couldn’t have imagined what that would mean. At times, we can’t imagine what that means for us, today.

There are moments in our life when we see only dead ends. We sometimes are so discouraged by the stresses and challenges we are facing that it is difficult to even think about promises of hope. We can feel trapped – stuck in a situation that fills us with fear, or anger, or which has simply suffocated any ability to dream.

Today, we can pause to remember that “God is with us.” We are not alone. And, in this pause, we can ask for the grace to let Jesus into our hearts – to let him in, past the barriers. What are the barriers? A pause today could help us identify them.

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family”

"The family, as the fundamental and essential educating community, is the privileged means for transmitting the religious and cultural values which help the person to acquire his or her own identity. Founded on love and open to the gift of life, the family contains in itself the very future of society; its most special task is to contribute effectively to a future of peace." – Pope John Paul II

Gospel text: (Mt 1,1-17): 
This is the document of the origins of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz. His mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. His mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, the king.

David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been Uriah's wife. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Then came the kings: Abijah, Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah. Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

After the deportation to Babylon Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel and Salathiel of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud of Eliakim, and Eliakim of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar of Matthan, and Matthan of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ —the Messiah. There were then fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, and fourteen generations from David to the deportation to Babylon, and fourteen generations from the deportation to Babylon to the birth of Christ.

Don’t you find it amazing that God would give his Son a family tree that was imperfect? Sins like homicide (David), idolatry (Solomon) or prostitution (Rahab) appear. Along with these, though, there are moments of grace and of faithfulness to God, especially when we talk of Joseph and Mary, from whom «came Jesus who is called the Christ ¬—the Messiah» (Mt 1:16).

But that’s the beauty of the way God works. As Jesus’ genealogy shows, He is able to perform miracles through any person and in any situation. He takes what is imperfect, fallen, and marred by sin and uses it to bring about his salvation.

“Modern intelligence won't accept anything on authority. But it will accept anything without authority.”

“Don't be scared by the word authority. Believing things on authority only means believing them because you've been told them by someone you think trustworthy. - ― C.S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity

Gospel Text: (MT 21:23-27)
When Jesus had come into the temple area,
the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him
as he was teaching and said,
“By what authority are you doing these things?
And who gave you this authority?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.
Where was John’s baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?”
They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet.”
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”
He himself said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

After reading today’s gospel from Matthew, the theme that stuck the most was the concept of authority. What scenarios exist in your life when your authority is called into question? It could be a situation where your motives are questioned, a scenario when you had a disagreement, or when someone doesn’t see things the same way you do.

Do we ever find ourselves caught in the dilemma similar to that of the religious leaders in today’s gospel? In other words, do we say we believe Jesus to be truly the Son of God, but live daily life as though that were not so? What difference will it make to me in my routine today to say that Jesus is the Son of God? Will I let him have “authority” over me, my schedule and my choices today?

There are times when we can become blinded to Jesus’ authority—and to the authority he has given us. We don’t necessarily question his awesome power. We’re just not sure he’ll use us to demonstrate it. We may have an “inner Pharisee” who tells us, “Keep your faith to yourself”. But if we focus too much on ourselves or what others think about us, we will become reluctant to step out and take a risk.

“Joy is not in things; it is in us.”

“The Christian message is called the ‘Gospel,’ that is, ‘the good news,’ an announcement of joy for all people; the Church is not a refuge for sad people, the Church is a house of joy.” – Pope Francis

Scripture Text: (IS 35:1-6A, 10)

The desert and the parched land will exult;

the steppe will rejoice and bloom.

They will bloom with abundant flowers,

and rejoice with joyful song.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

they will see the glory of the LORD,

the splendor of our God.

Strengthen the hands that are feeble,

make firm the knees that are weak,

say to those whose hearts are frightened:

Be strong, fear not!

Here is your God,

he comes with vindication;

with divine recompense

he comes to save you.

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,

the ears of the deaf be cleared;

then will the lame leap like a stag,

then the tongue of the mute will sing.

Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return

and enter Zion singing,

crowned with everlasting joy;

they will meet with joy and gladness,

sorrow and mourning will flee.

The first reading today at Mass reminded me of one of my favorite Christmas songs, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. This song reminds listeners that not everyone is fortunate enough to celebrate Christmas with a snow-covered lawn, a good meal, and presents. One line in particular really illustrates this point, which states, “The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life.”  Every year when this song comes on the radio, I am always struck by this line, because life is the greatest gift that we all have every year, but it is rare that we take time to really appreciate it.  The reading today reminds us that we must, “Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you.” (Isaiah 35:3-4).

In order to do this, we must remember that our greatest gift is the life we have been given, and we must share with others the joy, hope, and happiness that the Lord has given us, which provides ourselves and others a reason to celebrate.