A Way to a Happy New Year

A Way to a Happy New Year
Robert Brewster Beattie (1875-1946)

To leave the old with a burst of song;
To recall the right and forgive the wrong;

To forget the things that bind you fast
to the vain regrets of the year that’s past;

To have the strength to let go your hold
of the not worthwhile of the days grown old:

To dare go forth with a purpose true,

To the unknown task of the year that’s new;

To help your brother/sister along the road,

to do his work and lift his load;

To add your gift to the world’s good cheer,
is to have and to give a Happy New Year.

Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  Recently I have done a lot of reflecting on the impact and importance of family on our lives.   Looking at my own family, I realize that my sisters and brothers are far more important to me now than they were twenty years ago.  Now that our parents are gone, my siblings and their families are all the immediate family I have left.  What holds us together are common memories, experiences and our love for each other.

In addition to our biological families, many of us have created other families for ourselves.  Again, looking at my own life, all my siblings live overseas.  What has made my life in the USA easier are the relationships I have developed here.  I have a family of priests, a family of parishioners and a family of friends all who support me in my ministry in various ways.  These people have made my life richer and fulfilling.  Our immediate families (and I am including adopted families in this instance) nurtured us and helped us to grow into the people we are today.  The families we create for ourselves support us now, where we are and continue to nurture our growth. 

In Biblical times, family lineage was a matter of great importance because it was through one’s lineage that a person could demonstrated that they were true Israelites.  This is true of Jesus and is why Matthew began his gospel listing forty-two of Jesus’ human ancestors.  In fact, the whole Christmas story is built around the importance of lineage.  But in today’s gospel, Luke 2:41-52, something extraordinary happened.   This is the story of the twelve-year-old Jesus breaking away from his family and establishing ties with a different family, the family in his “Father’s house.” 

What is interesting about this story is that it is the last we hear of Jesus until he begins his public ministry approximately eighteen years later.  During those eighteen years all we know is that he was obedient to Mary and Joseph and “he advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.”  But in many ways, this story sets the stage for Jesus’ public ministry because once he sets out, he never returns to his family.  His new relationships were built around the people who followed him and included the twelve apostles, all the disciples, special friends like Martha, Mary and Lazarus, Mary Magdalene and many others.   

No matter what our familial relationships are, St Paul instructed the people of Colossae and he instructs us on how to practice the virtues of a new life in Jesus Christ: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.  And over all these put-on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.  And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:12-17).  This is what Jesus did and what He expects us to do. 

God our Father,
we give you all thanks and praise
that you chose for your Son a human family.
Through the prayers and example
of Mary and Joseph,
may we too learn
to make room for Jesus in our lives,
that he may grow up in us day after day
and make us more like him.

Teach us to rely on your word,
that in our trials as in our joys
we may be clothed in gentleness and patience
and united in love.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Amen

Be Still

I have noticed that the best way for me to get a few minutes of solitude at the end of the day is to start washing the dishes. And a few minutes of solitude is something I need frequently. A time to be alone. A time to reflect.

There is a difference between alone-ness and loneliness. Aloneness is necessary for the soul to thrive -- even to come alive!

German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested and eventually hanged for opposing Hitler. While in prison, he wrote letters to his fiancée. The last letter she received was dated Christmas 1944.

Speaking of the war that separated them, Bonhoeffer wrote this:

"These will be quiet days in our homes, but I have had the experience over and over again that the quieter it is around me, the clearer do I feel a connection to you. It is as though in solitude the soul develops senses which we hardly know in everyday life. Therefore I have not felt lonely or abandoned for one moment."

We can be alone without being lonely. In fact, those times of solitude are necessary respite for our beleaguered souls, set upon by the pressures of life. We need to take those moments to "get away" and just be still. "Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted," says Hans Margolius. "Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."

Be still....

Soldier's Poem

Twas the night before Christmas,

He lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of
Plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney
With presents to give,
And to see just who
In this home did live.

I looked all about,
A strange sight I did see,
No tinsel, no presents,
Not even a tree.

No stocking by mantle,
Just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures
Of far distant lands.

With medals and badges,
Awards of all kinds,
A sober thought
Came through my mind.

For this house was different,
It was dark and dreary,
I found the home of a soldier,
Once I could see clearly.

The soldier lay sleeping,
Silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor
In this one bedroom home.

The face was so gentle,
The room in such disorder,
Not how I pictured
A United States soldier.

Was this the hero
Of whom I'd just read?
Curled up on a poncho,
The floor for a bed?

I realized the families
That I saw this night,
Owed their lives to these soldiers
Who were willing to fight.

Soon round the world,
The children would play,
And grownups would celebrate
A bright Christmas day.

They all enjoyed freedom
Each month of the year,
Because of the soldiers,
Like the one lying here.

I couldn't help wonder
How many lay alone,
On a cold Christmas eve
In a land far from home.

The very thought
Brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees
And started to cry.

The soldier awakened
and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry,
This life is my choice;

I fight for freedom,
I don't ask for more,
My life is my god,
My country, my corps."

The soldier rolled over
And drifted to sleep,
I couldn't control it,
I continued to weep.

I kept watch for hours,
So silent and still
And we both shivered
From the cold night's chill.

I didn't want to leave
On that cold, dark, night,
This guardian of honor
So willing to fight.

Then the soldier rolled over,
With a voice soft and pure,
Whispered, "carry on Santa,
It's Christmas day, all is secure."

One look at my watch,
And I knew he was right.
"Merry Christmas my friend,
And to all a good night."

Awakening the Christ Child

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, 

and we have seen his glory, 

glory as of the only Son, from the Father, 

full of grace and truth.

 ~ John 1:14

The power of Christmas is not automatic. It can't be taken for granted. It has to be given birth, nursed, coaxed, and lovingly cajoled into effectiveness. The baby Jesus doesn't save the world, the adult Christ does and our task is to turn the baby Jesus into the adult Christ. We need to do that in our own bodies and with our own lives.

As Annie Dillard once put it, the Christ we find in our lives is always found as he was found at the first Christmas, a helpless infant, lying in the straw, someone who needs to be picked up and coaxed into adulthood. To make Christ effective, we need, ourselves, to become "the body of Christ".

To put it metaphorically, the Christ-child has to be awakened by us. We need to go to the manger and awaken the child.

We awaken the child by inducing it to smile. How's that done? Where is the Christ-child? In terms of an icon, the Christ-child is in the crib, but, in terms of spirituality, the Christ-child appears in our lives in a different way.

When Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit - defined as charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, longsuffering, fidelity, gentleness, and chastity - then obviously the child she gestated will radiate those qualities. We awaken the Christ-child when we smile at charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, longsuffering, fidelity, gentleness, and chastity until they begin to smile back. What comes back is the power of Christmas, a baby's power to transform a heart, divine power hidden in human weakness.

We have to help make Christmas happen.

4th Sunday of Advent

Here we are, it is the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas begins tomorrow evening.  Since December 2 we have been on a spiritual journey towards the fulfilment of God’s reign.  Our companions on this journey were Jeremiah, Baruch, Zephaniah, John the Baptist and St Paul the Apostle.  But don’t think for a minute that the journey ends on Christmas Day.  This journey began thousands of years ago and will continue until the end of time.  Many travelers smoothed the road for us and we are smoothing the road for those who follow us.   Jeremiah reminded the people of Israel, Judah and us that God’s promises will be fulfilled.  Baruch reveled joyfully because the people of Jerusalem were “remembered by God.”  God does not forget or abandon His people.  Zephaniah reminded the people of his time and us that “The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your (and our) midst.”  He is a “mighty savior” and we have nothing to fear.  Today the Prophet Micah tells the people of Israel and us that out of obscure Bethlehem a ruler will emerge “whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.”  This ruler will “stand firm and shepherd his flock.”  His “greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.”

John the Baptist had already encountered the Messiah.  His job was to proclaim that “all flesh shall see that salvation of God.”  “All flesh” includes us, our families, our neighborhoods, our towns our country and our world for generation after generation.  By the time St Paul arrived on the scene, Jesus had already gone to heaven.  But St Paul knew He was coming back and so his work focused on preparing us for the second coming.  In his Epistles St Paul teaches us how to get ready.

In today’s Gospel, Luke 1:39-45, we hear about a very significant part of the journey toward the fulfilment of God’s reign.  Mary, pregnant with Jesus, visits her cousin, Elizabeth, pregnant with St. John the Baptist.  The joyful greeting of these two unpretentious and humble women marks the beginning of a new age.  All the prophesies of the Old Testament are about to be fulfilled.  Something monumental is about to happen.  God in His goodness, His mercy and His love for us sends us his son, "Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).  

The birth of Jesus transformed the world.  The people of Israel waited thousands of years for this event.  The long-awaited Messiah was not announced with great fanfare or royal proclamations but in a simple exchange of greetings between two ordinary, faithful women “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.”

As we enter into our Christmas celebrations remember that the real meaning of Christmas, of Emmanuel, God with us, is that God loves us so much that He became one of us.  God did this so that we can understand that holiness does not reside in a faraway heaven we cannot see but here, now, in Peachtree City, Georgia.  My prayer for each of you this Christmas is that like Elizabeth, you will recognize the presence of the Lord in your everyday lives.  “Blessed are you who believe that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” 

May your Christmas journey be full of joy and peace!

Our God and Father,
we are eagerly awaiting
the deeper coming of your Son among us.
Prepare us to recognize and receive him
when he comes in his own astonishing way.
We expected him to come with great power
and he comes in poverty and humility;
we looked for him in far places
and he stands by our side;
we waited for extraordinary signs
and we discover him in the simplicity
of everyday life and everyday people.
Accustom us to your Son and his ways
that he may change our lives to conform to his,
for he is our Lord and Savior forever.

Amen.

Who Started Christmas

This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable, and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way in and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff.

When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot."

From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry we already crucified him."

For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it, just think of how different this whole world would be.

10 Christmas Commandments

  1.  You shall not leave ‘Christ’ out of Christmas, making it ‘Xmas.’ To some, ‘X’ is unknown.

  2.  You shall prepare your soul for Christmas. Spend not so much on gifts that your soul is forgotten.
  3.  You shall not let Santa Claus replace Christ, thus robbing the day of its spiritual reality.
  4.  You shall not burden the shop girl, the mailman, and the merchant with complaints and demands.
  5.  You shall give yourself with your gift. This will increase its value a hundred fold, and the one who receives it shall treasure it forever.
  6.  You shall not value gifts received by their cost. Even the least expensive may signify love, and that is more priceless than silver and gold.
  7.  You shall not neglect the needy. Share your blessings with many who will go hungry and cold if you are generous.
  8.  You shall not neglect your church. Its services highlight the true meaning of the season.
  9.  You shall be as a little child. Not until you become in spirit as a little one are you ready to enter into the kingdom of Heaven.
10. You shall give your heart to Christ. Let Him be at the top of your Christmas list.

Anyone keeping these commandments is sure to have a blessed Christmas.

3rd Sunday of Advent

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday and the focus of our liturgy is on rejoicing.  During this time of quiet preparation, today's liturgy reminds us of the joy that accompanied the fulfillment of so many Old Testament prophecies at the birth of Jesus.  We are joyful when we acknowledge that Jesus was born thousands of years ago, we rejoice that the Lord our God is working in our midst here, now.  And we anticipate the joy that is to come when Jesus returns in glory.

So, where is the joy?  Zephaniah, St John the Baptist and St. Paul easily could have asked the same question.  When Zephaniah was called to be a prophet (640 - 609 B.C.), he found Jerusalem to be a "rebellious and polluted tyrannical city" (Zephaniah 3:1).  St. John the Baptist had to contend with the corruption of Herod, imprisonment and, ultimately, execution while St. Paul wrote his beautiful epistle to the Philippians while in prison and in danger of death.  The world in Biblical times was war torn, chaotic and dangerous.  Yet these three brave spokespersons of God proclaimed a time of great joy and rejoicing. 

Zephaniah, St. John the Baptist and St. Paul did not find joy in the world around them.  They found joy in their faith in God and in their trust that God loved them.  They did view their world through a God lens and they lived their lives in a state of continual Advent.  What we hear in today’s readings are words of hope and encouragement.  Zephaniah reminded the people of Jerusalem that “the King of Israel, [was] in their midst.  He reminds us that the same is true today.  The Lord is here in our midst now.  “Shout for joy.” The Lord rejoices over us with gladness and renews us in his love.   “Be glad and exult with all your heart.”  In his Letter to the Philippians 4: 4-7, St Paul tells us that “the Lord is near.” And because the Lord is near, we should not be anxious but give thanks and pray making our needs known.  Then “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds.”   And finally, John the Baptist gave the people of his time and gives us a message of hope.  John and the people were “filled with expectation.”  They were waiting for the Messiah.  The Messiah was already there with them, but the people had not yet encountered him.  John promised them someone much mightier than himself who would baptize with “the Holy Spirit and fire.”  And this is good news. 

God loves us, the people he created, so much he sent his son into to world to redeem us.  His son loves us so much that he sacrificed his life for us.  We are the beneficiaries of unconditional, overwhelming and all-consuming love.  This alone should be enough to make us “shout for joy,” “sing joyfully,” “be glad, and exult with all [our] hearts” (Zephaniah 3:14). In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (John 15:9-11).

On this Gaudete Sunday 2018, let us join with St. Paul and shout out “Rejoice in the Lord always rejoice!” Because the Lord is near.  Emmanuel, God is with us!

God of everlasting love and glory,
from west and east you gather the humble,
leading them with joy
to the glorious light of your kingdom.
Let your joy be our joy,
your love be our love,
your acceptance of us be our welcome
to all our brothers and sisters.
With Jesus in our midst,
may our communities be happy
and be a foretaste, even in trials,
of the lasting joy you have prepared for us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Amen

In Search Of Our Kneeling Places

In each heart lies a Bethlehem, 

an inn where we must ultimately answer
whether there is room or not.
When we are Bethlehem-bound
we can no longer look the other way
conveniently not seeing stars
not hearing angel voices.
We can no longer excise ourselves by busily
tending our sheep in our kingdoms.

This Advent let’s go to Bethlehem
and see this thing that the lord has make known to us.
In the midst of shopping sprees
let’s ponder in our hearts the Gift of Gifts.
Through the tinsel
let’s look for the gold of the Christmas Star.
In the excitement and confusion, in the merry chaos,
let’s listen for the brush of angel’s wings.
This Advent let’s go to Bethlehem and find our kneeling places.

Ann Weems

Christmas List

 

This Christmas 

• Mend a quarrel
• Seek out a forgotten friend
• Share some treasure
• Give a soft answer
• Encourage youth Keep a promise
• Find the time
• Listen
• Apologize if you were wrong
• Be gentle
• Laugh a little
• Laugh a little more
• Express your gratitude
• Welcome a stranger
• Gladden the heart of a child
• Take pleasure in the beauty
• and wonder of the earth
• Speak your love
• Speak it again
• Speak it still once again

Peace – Hope – Joy – Love to You

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Mary, Mother of God, your greatness began at the first instant of your existence with the privilege of your Immaculate Conception. After Almighty God and the Sacred Humanity of Jesus, there is no being so great as you. It is true, you are a creature, and, therefore, far beneath the Supreme Being. But you are a creature so holy and so perfect that you are superior to all other creatures. God alone could make you so holy and so beautiful, and He did so to make you worthy of the dignity of being the Mother of Jesus, the Son of God, the Divine Word.

It was fitting that you, a Virgin Mother, should conceive the Man who was also the Son of God. It was fitting that you should be adorned with the greatest purity ever possible to a creature. You are the Virgin to whom God the Father decreed to givHis only Son–the Divine Word, equal to Himself in all things–that entering the natural order He might become your Son as well as His. You are the immaculate Virgin whom the Son Himself chose to make His Mother. You are the immaculate Virgin whom the Holy Spirit willed to make His Bride and in whom He would work the tremendous miracle of the Incarnation. The privilege of the Immaculate Conception was suitable to your dignity.

Mary, my immaculate Mother, help me to imitate your sinlessness by keeping my soul free from every willful sin by the faithful observance of God's commandments. Help me to imitate your fullness of grace by receiving Holy Communion frequently, where I shall obtain the sanctifying grace that will make my soul holy and pleasing to God, and the actual graces I need to practice virtue. Through prayer may grace fill my soul with the life of God and transform me into a living image of Jesus, just as you were.

Father, you prepared the Virgin Mary to be the worthy Mother of your Son. You made it possible for her to share beforehand in the salvation of your Son, Jesus Christ, who would bring life by His death, and kept her without sin from the first moment of her conception. Give us the grace by her prayers ever to live in your presence without sin. We ask this through the same Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

2nd Sunday of Advent

Usually during Advent, we talk about getting our hearts ready to welcome Jesus. We consider the anticipation that filled the people of the Old Covenant as they awaited the Messiah, we rejoice in the actual birth of Jesus and we look forward to the Second Coming when “all flesh will see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6). Something different struck me this year as I reflected on the readings for Advent. Last week it was what are we waiting for really? This week I am overwhelmed by the sense of hope and joy that permeates the readings. The Prophet Baruch (5:1-9) revels in the fact that the people of Jerusalem “are remembered by God.” Although they strayed, were taken captive and exiled, God promised that they would return; and, what a magnificent homecoming they received! They didn’t just haplessly wander back into Jerusalem, they put on “the splendor of glory from God.” They were wrapped in a “cloak of justice.” They returned “borne aloft in glory as on a royal throne.” The ground was leveled before them, the gorges were filled and God led them home “in joy by the light of his glory, with mercy and justice for company.” It doesn’t get much better than this.

When John the Baptist arrived on the scene, he too proclaimed an entrance fit for a king with leveled mountains and hills, filled in valleys and a smooth straight road. John’s call to “prepare the way of the Lord,” is addressed to all of us – not just the people within hearing distance of him in the desert. When he proclaimed that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God, “he includes us, our families, our neighborhoods, our towns our country and our world for generation after generation. Like the children of Jerusalem, we should be “rejoicing” that we “are remembered by God.” Because God fulfils all promises. And, God’s salvation is universal. Not only does God include us in his plan for salvation he anoints each and every one of us to be prophets and proclaimers of the Good News.

This week as we strive to live our lives in a state of continual Advent, trying to look at the world through a God lens, St Paul has more words of wisdom for us. In his Letter to the Philippians (1:4-6, 8-10) St Paul reminds us that we do have a role to play in God’s plan for salvation. And, since we are part of God’s plan, God will continue to work through us “until the day of Jesus Christ.” He prays that our “love may increase,” that we increase in “knowledge and perception,” that we “discern what is of value” so we may be “pure and blameless for the day of Christ” and that we are “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.” According to St Paul each one of us is in a “partnership for the gospel.” We are not passive observers. We have a job to get to. And so, we pray:

God our Father, 

we know today how to drill through mountains 

and level hills to build highways, 

but we have lost the way 

to each other's heart and to you. 

Let your Son come among us 

to make us inventive and daring enough 

to build roads of justice and love 

that help us encounter one another 

and you, our living God. 

We ask you this in the name of him whom we expect

and who is waiting for us, 

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Regret City

I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant and I knew in advance that no real good would come of it. This is my annual "Guilt Trip.

I got tickets to fly there on "Wish-I-Had" airlines. It was an extremely short flight. I got my "baggage," which I could not check. I chose to carry it myself all the way. It was loaded down with a one thousand memories of "what might have been."

No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret City International Airport. I say international because people from all over the world come to this dismal town. As I checked into the "Last Resort" Hotel, I noticed that they would be hosting the year’s most important event; the annual "Pity Party."

I wasn’t going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the towns leading citizens would be there. First, there would be the "Done" family; you know, "Should have," "Would Have" and "Could Have." Then came the "I Had" family. You probably know old "Wish" and his clan. Of course, the "Opportunities" family; "Missed and lost," would be present. The biggest family there would be the "Yesterday’s."

There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad story to share. Of course," Shattered dreams" would surely make an appearance. "It’s Their fault" family would regale us with stories (excuses) about how things had failed in their life. Each story would be loudly applauded by the "Don’t blame me" and "I couldn’t help it" committee.

To make a long story short, I went to this depressing party, knowing full well there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became very depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought back from the past, it occurred to me that this trip and subsequent "pity parties" Could be canceled by me!

I started to realize that I did not have to be there. And I didn’t have to be depressed. One thing kept going through my mind, I can’t change yesterday, But I do have the power to make today a wonderful day. I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged, as well as being encouraging.

Knowing this, I left Regret City immediately, and didn’t leave a forwarding address. Am I sorry for mistakes I’ve made in the past? Yes! But there is no way to undo them. So, if you’re planning a trip back to Regret City, please cancel all those reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a nice place called: "Starting Again." I like it so much that I made it my permanent residence. My neighbors, the "Been forgiven" and the "We’re saved" are so very helpful. By the way, you don’t have to carry around the heavy baggage anymore either.

That load is lifted from your shoulders upon arrival. Just thank God for salvation.

If you need directions, just look into your heart, and enter by "Grace way." No taxes or other cost. God’s Son paid the price, in full, for all sins and transgressions, a long time ago. Look me up if you’re ready for a total change in your life. I now live on "His Will Way."

Sincerely,

"Born again.”

Source Unknown

Spirit of Christmas

To catch the real meaning of the "Spirit of Christmas," we need only to drop the last syllable of the word, and it becomes the "Spirit of Christ." It beckons us to follow him, and become worthy of the blessedness which he promised to the most unlikely people-the poor in spirit, the sorrowful, the meek, the seekers after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and even the persecuted and the oppressed.

Faith

Find Joy

A senator once took Will Rogers to the White House to meet President Coolidge. He warned the humorist that Coolidge never smiled. Rogers replied, “I’ll make him smile.”

Inside the Oval Office, the senator introduced the two men. “Will Rogers,” he said, “I’d like you to meet President Coolidge.”

Deadpan, Rogers quipped, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch the name.” Coolidge smiled.

Blues musician Corky Siegel says, “Life is too important to take seriously.”

A sense of humor is essential. It is one of the most important means we possess to face the difficulties of life. And sometimes life can be difficult indeed.

I see people every day with big problems: relationships breaking apart, unemployment, serious illness. Not a week goes by when I haven’t talked with someone agonizing with a suffering friend, or people who are addicted or in deep grief. Without a sense of humor about my own life, I don’t know if I could survive. I take what I do seriously, but I try not to take myself too seriously. Like the New York City cab driver who said, “It’s not the work that I enjoy so much, but the people I run into!”

Here is an experiment: look for and find as much joy as possible for one full day. Try to enjoy the people you run into, the work you do, your leisure time and your relationships. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself – and take enough time to enjoy God. Try this experiment for one full day, and by evening you may be amazed to find yourself basking in the glow of a rekindled spirit.

It just takes a day to find joy along the way.

As Advent Unfolds

One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: To dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life. (Psalm 27:4)

As Advent unfolds, we long for the Savior who will bring forth a new creation and present a kingdom of justice, mercy, and peace to the eternal Father. The Lord revealed His coming presence over time. When on earth, He revealed himself in various ways. Some, like these blind men, called out to Him as Messiah, the Son of David; others, like the woman who touched His cloak, had their quietly-held belief; Nicodemus came at night and the Centurion professed his faith at the foot of the cross.

Advent is about waiting, longing, searching for the Lord of my life, to have Him come anew, to grant me healing mercy and deeper faith. It is about needing a savior, my life's refuge, and the need of all people for a Savior: “Prepare ye, the way of the Lord.” The Lord reveals Himself in various ways, as presently now in the Eucharist, the Word, in prayer and in the communion of believers.

Cultivate patient waiting. What are the Lord's ways in your life? What message should we take to others?

“I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13)