-
4th Sunday in Advent: Yr. A
Rediscover St. Joseph!
A couple of years ago, I got a Christmas gift, a book with the title: “Rediscover the Saints.” On this fourth Sunday of Advent, I would like us to rediscover St. Joseph, the husband of Mary. I describe him as a committed Jew and a good husband. When Jesus was born, life in Bethlehem was very busy - only a few shepherds recognized His birth. Advent seems like a busy time.As Joseph arrived at the manger after searching for an inn, to no avail, for the birth of Jesus, what do you think occupied his mind most? He must have tried to get the place prepared to the best of his ability for Mary to give birth. The manger represents our hearts to be prepared for Christ at Christmas. That is what we do all through the Advent season. In the remaining few days, our fundamental question is: “What can I do to prepare a place for the Baby Jesus to live in me?” And the simple answer is: “Clean up the room: the heart.”
We prepare our hearts by not only decorating them with Christian virtues of faith, hope and love, as flowers, but also by making some spiritual resolutions and spiritual practices, like intensified personal and family prayer…above all, by giving up something to create a SPACE for Jesus. Please permit me to make the following proposals.
- Minimize Talk: this helps create space for meditative prayer and other forms of prayer.
- Fewer Media Chats: help create space to adore Jesus, especially in Eucharistic Adoration.
- Good Driving: cultivate the virtue of patience with other road users.
- Increase Smiling: this creates space for accommodation and being open to others.
- Be Conformed to Love: this creates space for neighbors, especially with immediate family members. We remember here the Five Five-Finger Theology of Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “You did it for me.” [Matt. 25:40]. Love is what God is.
The manger should arouse in us the profound desire to be bearers of God, because now, it is our hearts that are the manger, the holy crib of God-with-us: Emmanuel. The mystery of the Incarnation changed the course of human history. My good heart disposition could equally change me as a person, change my family, and the entire broken world in which we live. Let us always be prepared as He comes into our lives daily in the Eucharist.
Maranatha: Come Lord Jesus!