Swimming in joy (St. John of the Cross / Henri Nouwen)

The soul of one who serves God
always swims in joy,
always keeps holiday,
and is always in the mood for singing.

 --St. John of the Cross

   At first sight, joy seems to be connected with being different. When you receive a compliment or win an award, you experience the joy of not being the same as others. You are faster, smarter, or more beautiful, and it is that difference that brings you joy. But such joy is very temporary. True joy is hidden where we are the same as other people: fragile and mortal. It is the joy of belonging to the human race. It is the joy of being with others as a friend, a companion, a fellow-traveler. This is the joy of Jesus, who is Emmanuel: God-with-us. 

Dear God, 

Joy is what makes life worth living,
but joy seems hard to find.
I complain that my life is
 sorrowful and depressing.
What then brings the joy I so much desire?
You invite me to choose joy.
Help me to choose to trust that what happened,
painful as it may be, holds a promise. 

Let your loving voice be my guide.
Amen. 

–Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey 

Image source 1: https://catholicallyear.com/blog/the-blessed-virgin-and-blasting-out-of/
Image source 2: https://www.lovecrucified.com/joyful-mysteries
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The Advent journey (Bobby Schuller)

The Advent journey:

Hope becomes peace.

Peace becomes joy.

Joy becomes Love.

Love becomes Christ. 

--Bobby Schuller 

Image source: https://lori-wangler.medium.com/written-in-the-stars-ba0583b8095c
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Joy (St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata / St. Mechtilde of Magdeburg)

Joy is a net of love by which we can catch souls.

--St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata

I cannot dance, Beloved, unless you lead me. 

If you want me to leap with abandon, 

You must intone the song. 

Then I shall leap into love, 

From love into wisdom, 

From wisdom into joy, 

And from joy, reach beyond all human sensations. 

There I will seek to remain, 

Yet long also to soar higher still. 

-- St. Mechtilde of Magdeburg
(13th century mystic)

Image source: Still shot, Pam Tanowitz & David Lang's staging of the Song of Songs, in which the human soul prays that God will draw her to him, New York City, November 2023, https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/2023-2024/pam-tanowitz-artists-at-the-center/

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Sunday Gospel Reflection, December 15, 2024: Shout with exultation, O city of Zion!

Shout with exultation, O city of Zion!
What makes you jump for joy? 

    Prophets don’t always bring gloom and doom! Although Zephaniah does speak at length to the people of Israel about the day of judgment looming over them, the prophet ends his exhortation with a messianic promise that should cause them to be glad and exult with all their heart! To exult is, etymologically, to jump for joy; Zephaniah encourages the people to exult because soon, the King of Israel, the Lord will be in their midst, and so they have no further misfortune to fear. Not only that, but God himself will also rejoice over the people once they turn back to him! Imagine the Lord jumping for joy! The prophet Isaiah sounds a similar refrain: Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel! God’s presence among us is a reason to rejoice, to jump for joy! 

    In Luke’s Gospel, John the Baptist – also a prophet – announces what Zephaniah and Isaiah also promised, news that should again make the people jump for joy: one mightier than I is coming; John says. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Everyone – crowds, soldiers, even tax collectors – wants to know, Teacher, what should we do? John’s answer to each involves practicing love of neighbor and life-giving justice. Although he doesn’t exactly encourage his listeners to jump for joy, John knows what it means to jump for joy, as he himself leapt in his mother Elizabeth’s womb as Mary’s approached, carrying the Messiah. 

    Paul’s Letter to the Philippians sums up our reason for joy: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! The Lord is near. Christ died and rose for us, and we know that he is always near. We can access his presence, Paul says, through kindness, prayer and petition, and thanksgiving, so that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. What better reason could there be to jump for joy?

This post is based on OLMC’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

To whom can you bring comfort this Advent? (Fr. James Martin)

    Advent is not simply an interior event, nor is it simply something between you and God. Spiritual preparation necessarily has a communal dimension. So, I’d like to invite you to think not only about the word metanoia, but also the word “comfort.” The Hebrew word used is nacham, whose root comes from the word for sighing or breathing heavily, so it has the connotation of relief. 

    To whom can you give comfort to this Advent? Whom in your world can you bring relief to? Is it someone in your family who is struggling with a financial problem or an illness? Is it an LGBTQ person who feels unloved by God or excluded from the church? Perhaps it is a whole people or community suffering during war or famine. How can you comfort them? How can you give them relief? 

    Last year, in a letter to [Fr. Martin's Ministry] Outreach, Pope Francis wrote of God’s “style" as “closeness, mercy and tenderness.” Who in your world can you share that “style” with? Who can you comfort? Whom can you show tenderness to? In short, how can you live Advent both interiorly and exteriorly? 

--Fr James Martin, 

 Outreach, Dec 9-10, 2023 

Image source: https://kidscorner.net/parent-blog/a-heart-for-the-hurting-helping-your-child-support-their-friend-during-divorce 

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Choosing to walk in the light of the Lord (Sr. Norma Pimentel)

   This Advent, when we choose to walk in the light of the Lord, we can conquer a desire to be negative and destructive and instead offer opportunities of dialogue and peace that bring hope. We will be people of faith that believe God is with us and we can make a difference in building communities and nations of faith. 

--Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ,
Pax Christi Reflections 

Image source: https://travelcar.edu.vn/how-far-did-the-shepherds-travel-to-bethlehem/ Quotation source

Mary, flower of every perfection (St. Francis de Sales)

    At the appointed time, the torrent of original sin began to roll its fatal waves over the conception of this holy woman. But just when the torrent had reached that certain point, it did not pass beyond it but was stopped… In this way, God turned all captivity away from his glorious Mother. 

    Thus, God gave to Mary the blessing of the two states of human nature: she possessed the innocence that the first Adam had lost, and she enjoyed in a surpassing manner the redemption that Jesus, the second Adam, would gain for her. Hence, like a chosen garden that was to bear the fruit of life, she was made the flower of every kind of perfection.

 --St. Francis de Sales,
Treatise on the Love of God,
Book 2, chapter 6

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Image source 1: Mary Immaculate, stained glass, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, https://www.nationalshrine.org/blog/why-do-we-celebrate-the-immaculate-conception/
Image source 2: https://themarianroom.com/flowers-and-our-lady-ii/
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A time to break routine (Fr. Brian Engelhart SJ)

    Advent is a time to break routine. As we prepare for the birth of Jesus, we have the opportunity to examine our lives, consider the world around us, and ask if we are really satisfied with the ways things are. For me, the answer every year is a resounding “no.” Every year, I regret not taking up opportunities to reach out to those in need, I mourn the systems of injustice that place so many in great need, and I find myself trapped in seemingly endless cycles of self-defeating thought patterns… The routine is not good enough. 

    Looking with only my own eyes and the limited perspective of my routine, things seem completely helpless. But when I can pray with God’s perspective and see how God has responded to humanity’s greatest need, I am filled with hope. I do not know what God has in store, but I know that God also is not satisfied to accept our routine as good enough. If God chose the Incarnation to save humanity from sin and death, then I must look at the world in a new way. I have to look for the small, unexpected signs that God is still at work, that God’s promise of love and redemption has not changed. 

    What routines are you being shaken out of? How is God inviting you to reconsider yourself, others, and the world this season and in the year ahead? 

--Fr. Brian Engelhart SJ 

To read more on how Fr. Engelhart uses the Spiritual Exercises to shake up his own routine, access the complete article by clicking on the link below. 

Image source: https://www.sahilbloom.com/newsletter/how-to-get-out-of-a-rut
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Something stirs inside (Fr. Edward Hays / Kristin Armstrong)

Advent, like its cousin Lent,
is a season for prayer and 
reformation of our hearts.

--Fr. Edward Hays

    When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised change, I feel something stir inside me. Hopefulness? Gratitude? Openness? Whatever it is, it’s welcome. 

--Kristin Armstrong

Image source: http://www.collectingthemoments.com/2014/12/creating-new-tradition-advent.html
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Going beyond the mind you have (Bishop Robert Barron)

    John the Baptist said, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” He is saying that his job is to prepare for the mighty coming of the Lord. A change is coming, a revolution is on the way, a disaster (the destruction of the old) is about to happen. Prepare the way of the Lord. 

    And what is the manner of preparation? It is a baptism of repentance. Baptism—an immersion in water—reminded first-century Jews of the exodus, passing through the Red Sea, leaving the ways of slavery behind. 

    And repentance (metanoia) is going beyond the mind that you have. How our minds are conditioned by the fallen world! How our expectations are shaped, stunted by what has gone before. The world of Tiberius and Pilate and Herod and Caiaphas has shaped our imagination. It’s time, John is saying, for a new mind, a new set of eyes, a new kind of expectation. God is about to act! 

    Be ready! 

--Bishop Robert Barron,
Gospel Reflection, 
October 22, 2024 

Image source: Joseph Slawinski and Michael Baranowski, John Preaches a Baptism of Repentance, sgraffito mural located in an outdoor shrine on the property of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, Stella Niagara, New York, https://buffaloah.com/a/STELLA/lower/4421/int/index.html#3
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Sunday Gospel Reflection, December 8, 2024: Prepare the way of the Lord!

Prepare the way of the Lord!

But how do we prepare? 

    The first two weeks of Advent are a curious time. We want to be preparing for the birth of Jesus, but our Sunday readings focus primarily on the parousia, Jesus’ second coming into the world. In either case, we need to prepare for the revelation of God in Jesus. How? Through reconciliation and transformation! 

    Addressing the people of Israel in exile, the prophet Baruch exhorts them to change their (metaphorical) clothes from head to foot: take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever! The prophet is inviting the people to reconciliation and transformation, with the promise that, if they align themselves with the Lord, God will show all the earth their splendor and lead Israel in joy, back not only to their land, but to right relationship by means of his mercy and justice. They will then be able to sing Psalm 126: The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy! 

    Another prophet, John the Baptist, bursts onto the scene in Luke’s Gospel, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins for all people. John, like Baruch, comes to prepare the way of the Lord. But is it Jesus’ route to us via the Incarnation, or is it our route back to him? Both/and, it seems! God is certainly bringing us salvation in the gift of his Son Jesus, but it is up to us to participate, making low every mountain and hill that stand in the way of our relationship with him. Preparation is necessary! 

    To prepare, we must, as Paul tells the Philippians, continue to grow in faith and allow the Lord to work in us, for the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it. Living together in Christ, our relationships will bear fruit, and our love will increase ever more and more. By allowing God to transform our hearts through reconciliation and mercy, by opening them to let God work in us, we prepare for the coming of the Lord with joy, both at Christmas and at the second coming, pure and blameless for the day of Christ, because God makes us new again, and restores us to himself! 

This post is based on OLMC’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Abound in love for one another (Hans Urs von Balthasar)

May the Lord make you increase and
abound in love for one another and for all,
just as we have for you.

 1 Thessalonians 3:12 

    When you say Yes to God unconditionally, you have no idea how far this Yes is going to take you. Certainly farther than you can guess and calculate beforehand… but just how far and in what form? At the same time, this Yes is the sole, non-negotiable prerequisite of all Christian understanding, of all theology and ecclesial wisdom. 

    The point to which everything comes down is this: the total self-giving to Christ (leaving everything, every wife and child: Luke 18:30) is now wedded to the task of committing this totality to the service of the flock of Christ and finds in this its practical application. Also, this entire service, in the Catholic understanding, is not likely any worldly “job” but is a special kind of participation in the redemptive work of the Son – who was obedient unto death – and is thus itself marked by this work. 

    A good priest is always a miracle of grace.

--Hans Urs von Balthasar 

Happy Anniversary of your
Ordination to the Priesthood, Fr. Pat!
We are so blessed by your commitment
to the service of the flock of Christ! 

Image source 1: Fr. Pat celebrates Mass for First Holy Communion, April 28, 2024,  https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=854995249999224&set=a.855001323331950 

Image source 2: Fr. Pat creating stand-alone Nativity sets for the 2023 Advent Fair, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=757995679699182&set=a.757479833084100
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Every day you shall wonder at the richness of life (Isabel Allende / Phillips Brooks)

We don’t even know how strong we are 

until we are forced to bring
that hidden strength forward.
 In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity,
people do amazing things.
The human capacity for survival 

and renewal is amazing.

 --Isabel Allende 

    O, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger [people]! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks! Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. But you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God. 

--Phillips Brooks,
“Going Up to Jerusalem,”
Twenty Sermons

 

Image source: https://imrannsons.com/strenght-capabilities.htm
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The expectation of Advent (St. Pope John Paul II / Henri Nouwen)

Advent is… [an] annual meditation
on the work of salvation and sanctification,
the work of grace and love
which the Lord began and continually begins
in every person and in every generation.

 --St. Pope John Paul II 

    The expectation of Advent is anchored in the event of God’s incarnation. The more I come in touch with what happened in the past, the more I come in touch with what is to come. The Gospel not only reminds me of what took place but also of what will take place. In the contemplation of Christ’s first coming, I can discover the signs of his second coming. By looking back in meditation, I can look forward in expectation. By reflection, I can project; by conserving the memory of Christ’s birth, I can progress to the fulfillment of his kingdom. I am struck by the fact that the prophets speaking about the future of Israel always kept reminding their people of God’s great works in the past. They could look forward with confidence because they could look backward with awe to Yahweh’s great deeds. 

    I pray that Advent will offer me the opportunity to deepen my memory of God’s great deeds in time and will set me free to look forward with courage to the fulfillment of time by him who came and is still to come. 

--Henri Nouwen 

Image source: https://friendsofthesavior.org/blog/longing-for-the-dawn-an-advent-meditation
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Signs in the sun and the moon and the stars (Henri Nouwen)

   The state of the world suggests to me the urgent need for a spirituality that takes the end things very seriously, not a spirituality of withdrawal, nor of blindness to the powers of the world, but a spirituality that allows us to live in this world without belonging to it, a spirituality that allows us to take the joy and peace of the divine life even when we are surrounded by the powers and principalities of evil, death, and destruction. 

   I wonder if a spirituality of liberation does not need to be deepened by a spirituality of exile or captivity. I wonder if a spirituality that focuses on the alleviation of poverty should not be deepened by a spirituality that allows people to continue their lives when their poverty only increases. I wonder if a spirituality that encourages peacemaking should not be deepened by a spirituality that allows us to remain faithful when the only things we see are dying children, burning houses, and the total destruction of our civilization. 

   May God prevent any of these horrors from taking place, may we do all that is possible to prevent them, but may we never lose our faith when “great misery [descends] on the land and wrath on this people . . . [when there are] signs in the sun and moon and stars . . . [when] nations [are] in agony, bewildered by the clamor of the ocean and its waves” (Luke 21:24–26). I pray that we will not be swept away by our own curiosity, sensationalism, and panic, but remain attentive to him who comes and will say: “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34–35). 

--Henri Nouwen 

Image source: Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire Destruction (1836), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Course_of_Empire_%28paintings%29#/media/File:Cole_Thomas_The_Course_of_Empire_Destruction_1836.jpg
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