Readings: Zeph 3:14-18a; Phil 4:4-7; Lk 3:10-18
Today the Church calls us to rejoice. The first word of the Mass today is Gaudete which is taken from the second reading where St. Paul commands us to rejoice in the Lord always, then he repeats it for the purpose of emphasis. So, while the Church calls our attention to the need for rejoicing today, St. Paul is not limiting his directive for a day, but he says “always.” In other words, rejoicing should be one of the characteristics that is part and parcel of being Christian.
We live in a society that knows very little joy and, consequently, very little rejoicing. The reason for this is quite simple: we have chosen selfishness over charity causing us to put our focus on ourselves rather than on God and others. When we do this, it seems the only things we rejoice in are the things that cause pleasure for us. When our focus is on God and others, we rejoice in the good that comes to others, as well as to ourselves, but especially in the fact that we are united with the Lord and that His will is being accomplished.
In the first reading we hear about what God was going to do for Jerusalem. However, we notice that what He promises to Jerusalem is clearly not about the city itself, but about its citizens. As citizens of the New Jerusalem, we need to recognize that what the Lord has promised is actually being fulfilled in each one of us. The judgment against us has been removed, our enemies have been turned away, we do not need to be afraid or discouraged because the Lord is in our midst. All this is truly cause for rejoicing, but then the Prophet says something unexpected: God will rejoice over you with gladness and renew you in His love!
God is rejoicing in us; are we rejoicing in Him? We might respond that we still have enemies and that, given the situation in the world and in our lives, we don’t see much cause for rejoicing because we are afraid and discouraged. In other words, because of our circumstances we are seeing things in a way that is exactly the opposite of the Scriptural directive. If we were truly united with God and His will, we would be at peace in the midst of the chaos and would be rejoicing in the Lord.
Admittedly, there is little to rejoice in when we look at the condition of the Church and of the world, but if our focus is on the Lord, there is profound reason for rejoicing. In the previous paragraph we saw that God is rejoicing in us. That means that God’s focus is on us and His love and His joy are being poured upon us because we are His children. Of course, if we are striving to grow in holiness and become the people He created us to be, then there is even greater cause for rejoicing.
How does one grow in holiness and become the person God created me to be? Most importantly, make the spiritual life your priority. Set time aside for prayer every day, go to Holy Mass as often as possible, get to confession regularly, work on uprooting the vices in your life, and strive to grow in virtue. As we see in the Gospel, we should be at peace and perform the duties of our state in life. When prayer is the priority it has the effect of conforming us more and more to God and desiring to do His holy will. When we do this, God is not rejoicing because of what He gains from the good we do or because He is receiving more love from us.
On the contrary, God gains nothing from the good we do or the love we give Him. God is absolutely perfect; He is lacking in nothing. So, His rejoicing in us is because of the good that is coming to us. Remember, the more we love and serve the Lord, the more we benefit. At the same time, it will cause a greater joy within us because we are being freed from our slavery to sin and selfishness and we are experiencing the true freedom of the children of God.
Growing in holiness is not always fun and happy because there are times of purification and tests that are given to help us to grow. But even when we don’t feel the happiness, we will still experience the joy. The main point is that if God’s focus is on us and we are the cause for His rejoicing, then our focus should be on God and He should be the cause of our rejoicing—not just for a moment or a day, but always!
Fr. Altier’s column appears regularly in The Wanderer, a national Catholic weekly published in St. Paul, Minn. For information about subscribing to The Wanderer, please visit www.thewandererpress.com.
