Good News Reflection
Christmas Eve - Nativity of the Lord at the Vigil Mass
December 24, 2009
Today's Readings:
Isaiah 62:1-5
Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29
Acts 13:16-17, 22-25
Matthew 1:1-25
http://www.usccb.org/nab/122409b.shtml
The gift of supernatural joy
What is the best Christmas gift you've ever received from God? The obvious answer is: "Jesus my Savior!" All throughout Advent, we've been singing (in many churches), "Oh come, oh come Emmanuel." This nickname for Jesus, "Emmanuel", means "God is with us." To have "God with us" at all times, in good times and in bad, is great cause for joy.
So, if Jesus is always with us, why don't we always feel joy? I believe it's because we connect joy to love. If we don't feel loved enough, we are miserable. No joy.
Have we ever been loved enough? Not really, not from people, not even from those who are supposed to love us fully and faithfully.
This is why we need to ask God for a supernatural ability to become aware of his love. When we're worn out and feeling empty because others are not loving us like they should, we need to remind ourselves that God is with us – we need to call upon Emmanuel. God who is with us already loves us completely, fully, unconditionally, even though we do not deserve to be treated better than the way we treat him.
If we expect others to love us more than they do, we feel unloved, but if we keep our eyes on Jesus, his love fills in all the gaps and restores us in his love. This is a very good reason to rejoice.
Emmanuel. It's a name for Jesus that we should use year-round. As you finish preparing for the celebration of Christmas, focus on Emmanuel. Pray to Emmanuel. Sing to Emmanuel. Dance with Emmanuel. This sign, this reminder, this name is God's personal Christmas gift to YOU.
Guess what happens when we openly display our joy. We evangelize ourselves! Psychologists say that smiling reduces stress. Medical doctors say that laughter heals. If you need healing, if you need renewal, if you need to be lifted up out of misery, hold a praise and worship session with Jesus, your guardian angel, and a CD of joyful music.
Here's a Christmas gift you can give to yourself in order to become more aware of God's love for you. Go to the nativity display at your church and look at the manger. Write on a small piece of paper the names of those who fail to love you sufficiently. Place it in the manger and, if it has straw or hay, take a piece of it (or take a flower petal or leaf from a nearby plant) as a reminder that Emmanuel was born to give you more than enough love.
Supernatural joy is not a feeling like happiness, which depends on outside circumstances. The joy of Emmanuel is an awareness that God is taking good care of you despite the outside circumstances. It's the awareness of Christ's nearness and his exceedingly great concern for you.
© 2009 by Terry A. Modica
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