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1 Thessalonians 5:16-24:

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.

The Word of the Lord.

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Christmas is almost a week away!

For many of us, our trees have been decorated, most of our gifts have been wrapped, and empty nests have been filled with kids returning from college, relatives from out of state, or friends we’ve finally made the time to reconnect with.

It truly is a blessed time of year. 

But I wonder, can we keep this holiday spirit going year-round? Or is Christian joy something seasonal?

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Saint Paul says in our second reading, “Rejoice always!” Not, “Rejoice during the month of December.”

Or, “Rejoice until Christmas.”

Or, “Rejoice when everything in life is going my way.”

But, “Rejoice always!” 

God calls us to be joyful people year-round. This is what we celebrate today on Gaudete Sunday. So, how do we translate this holiday cheer into joy year-round?

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I’ll offer four simple tips. Perhaps one or two might stick, becoming a New Year’s resolution, even a year-long habit.

1.) Give more gifts.

Every Christmas we’re called to be generous. But don’t stop giving on December 25th. 

Keep giving.  In fact, give more. 

But instead of giving someone a set of Apple AirPods, the latest bestseller, or a set of furry slippers, give the gift of yourself. 

Some things we buy this Christmas will be out of style next year. But you never will be. Don’t let any commercial or advertisement convince you otherwise.

What your family and friends need more than anything else is you. 

If we focus on the giver – not the gift – then Christmas joy will be ours year-round.

2.) Spend more time with God.

For some of us, God gets more time during Advent than other times of the year. 

In preparing for the birth of Christ, we may have attended an extra Mass, prayed a rosary, read the bible, or spent a few moments in prayer, even over a cup of coffee.

When the anxiety and busyness of life returns, these routines shouldn’t stop; our relationship with God should never be seasonal.

The formula — before, during, and after Christmas — is always the same: 

More time spent with God equals more joy. As the prophet Isaiah reminds us in our first reading, “My God is the joy of my soul.”

3.) Remember, God is always with you. 

During the Christmas season, many of us fill our homes with Nativity sets, Advent wreaths, and angels atop our Christmas trees. 

All those little bits of Christmas décor are reminders of God’s presence in our lives. We need these visual reminders that the Lord is near.

But not just during the month of December. We need them year-round. When the Christmas decorations come down, put up another reminder of God’s presence. 

Replace your Christmas tree with a crucifix, your Advent wreath with a framed Bible quote, or your Nativity scene with an image of a favorite Saint. 

Keep some physical reminder of God’s presence in view for yourself, your children, and for all who enter your home, then the true source of Christmas joy – Jesus Christ – will be with you always.

4.) Go the extra mile. 

The holidays often inspire us to be a little more generous with our time, treasure, and talent. 

For example, we’ve all made the effort to buy a gift, send a card, a text, or to volunteer. I’m thinking, in particular, about the young parents who helped to run our Christmas pageant last week.

When the holidays conclude, keep it up, because the old saying is true – “the more we give, the more we have.”

Go that extra mile and you’ll experience Christian joy year-round.

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In nearly a week we’ll celebrate Christmas. Holiday cheer is everywhere. But it doesn’t have to end on December 25^th. 

In fact, it shouldn’t. Christian joy is never meant to be seasonal.

In order to keep it going, we must give more gifts – particularly, the gift of ourselves. Spend more time with God. Remember that God is always with us. And go the extra mile.

Then Christian joy will be ours year-round.

As Saint Paul encourages us today, “Rejoice always! I say it again, rejoice!”

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Image credits: (1) Global Teen Challenge (2) Just Cards Direct (3) Calvary University

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Gospel: Matthew 11: 11-15

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force. 
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. 
And if you are willing to accept it,
he is Elijah, the one who is to come. 
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint John of the Cross, a 16^th century mystic, poet, priest, and Doctor of the Church. 

John was ordained a priest at the age of 25, but most of his spiritual “formation” happened shortly thereafter while imprisoned by his own religious community.

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After attempting to introduce stricter spiritual practices into the life of his monastery, John was thrown into a darkened cell all by himself for nine terrible months.

One night, he decided to escape. So, he pried open his door, made his way to the edge of his monastery, and in the pitch black while dangling twenty to thirty feet in the air, he let go.

John spent the rest of his life living in different monasteries around Spain, writing poetry and spiritual canticles.

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In his famous work, The Dark Night of the Soul, John likened a soul’s journey to God to that fateful night of his escape.

When he let go of the wall surrounding his monastery, he knew he also had to leave behind his anger, grief, and frustration at his brothers. He could not expect to be welcomed into heaven if he still harbored evil thoughts about what happened in his heart.

As he later wrote, “In the twilight of our lives, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions or worldly successes, but by how much we have loved.” In his case, that also included how much he was able to love those who imprisoned him.

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So, what might John’s life and writings say to us today?

There are parts of every human soul which we must detach ourselves from – whether it’s anger, jealousy, greed, pride, or any other sin. 

We cannot simply hope these things go away; rather, we must develop a sense of urgency, confronting those hardened parts of our hearts with prayer, fasting, and penance. 

At times, it’s quite painful. But doing so makes more and more room for God, until God becomes, “all in all.”

Saint John of the Cross, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Christianity Today (2) John of the Cross, Wikipedia (3) Salt and Light Blog

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Gospel: Luke 1:39-47

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
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.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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This is the only Gospel where two women are found together… and they’re both pregnant. It’s what we celebrate today, “motherhood.”

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We’ve all had mothers. Some of us are mothers. We celebrate them because you cannot be a mother to yourself. You’re always a mother in relation to someone else, a child – offering life, protection, nourishment, and love.

Mary was the mother of Jesus. She was with him from the womb to the tomb.

Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, who leapt in his mother’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice. 

Centuries later, Our Lady of Guadalupe becomes a mother to Juan Diego, appearing to him in his native Mexico over the course of 4 days in the year 1531.

During these appearances, Our Lady says to him, “Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection?” 

The message of Mary’s maternal love converted 8 million natives in Mexico, and has converted countless others around the world since.

It’s why Our Lady of Guadalupe was featured on the cover of National Geographic Magazine a few years ago, when they titled her, “Mary, the Most Powerful Woman in the World.”

She cares for all who call upon her name, offering each of us what she offered Saint Juan Diego – her maternal care and intercession. 

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As we continue our Advent journeys, we turn to Mary in hope, asking her to pray on our behalf…  

Hail Mary, full of grace…

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Image credits: (1) Knights of Columbus (2) Passionist Nuns (3) EWTN on X.com