Good News Reflection
Thursday of the 4th week of Advent
December 23, 2010
Available as a Good News Ministries Podcast:
http://gnm.org/DailyReflections/podcasts
Today's Readings:
Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24
Ps 25:4-5ab,8-10,14
Luke 1:57-66
http://www.usccb.org/nab/122310.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_12_23.mp3
The Gift of the Spirit of Christmas
Can we experience "Christmas all year"? We know that we should have the spirit of Christmas every day, every season, but what is this "spirit of Christmas"? Is it love? Is it joy? Is it hope? Is it peace and good will toward all?
Yes, and it goes much deeper than that. The core of the spirit of Christmas is a life of humility.
Today's first reading explains why: Every day, all year, God says to each of us: "Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me."
It requires humility to listen to God's messengers. And it takes humility to recognize when God is preparing his way before you. Do you see God coming to you in a messenger today? Are you alert and ready every day? Even when they tell you something you don't like to hear?
"For he is like the refiner's fire ... refining and purifying ...." In humility, we are grateful for this.
Watch out if you pray today's responsorial psalm: "Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me...." for he surely will!
Sometimes he teaches us through modern day prophets who are like John the Baptizer, whose birth we see in Luke 1:57-66. These are people on whom the Lord places his hand, even if only for a moment, to prepare our hearts for a new level of holiness. It can happen any time, through anyone, even those who don't believe in Christ!
"Thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way."
Blessed are you when you are poor in spirit, recognizing that you have a poverty of knowledge about how to be holy in that troubling and tiresome situation you're enduring right now. In such humility, you are teachable. The loving friendship of the Lord is with you.
Christmas should be a time of celebrating the birthing places of Christ's presence in our lives that occur throughout the year: the new spiritual growth, the new victories over sin and worldly behaviors, and the new purifications that come from listening to God's messengers.
The core of the spirit of Christmas is a life of humility – just like Jesus.
In humility, we accept what God teaches us through his messengers. Instead of arguing with them to prove that they are wrong just because we don't want them to be right, we embrace all opportunities for purification. The purging that we reject today will become the Purgatory we gratefully accept when the Lord comes for us at the end of our earthly journeys.
The refining fire that God provides is the Holy Spirit, who burns off what is not holy within us and enables us to become more purely the image of Christ. Why wait for Purgatory? Heaven doesn't need to see Christ in us – the world does.
Prepare to be filled with the spirit of Christmas – the love, joy peace and hope of Christmas that lasts all year, by looking for the many messengers that the Holy Spirit is sending to you.
© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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