Donate

Deacon-structing Advent: #Joy

Deacon Pedro

Sunday, December 17, 2023

Stained glass panel of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wikimedia Commons.

It’s the third week in Advent and our character is Elizabeth.

When Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth tells Mary that, “as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.” Mary comes to us, bringing Jesus, the Good News, and we are filled with the Holy Spirit; this makes us leap for joy! I don’t know about you, but I always imagine Elizabeth as a woman full of joy.

And then, Mary responds: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour!”

Mary also rejoices.

This Advent and every Advent we are reminded to be a people of joy.

We can think of joy as a reaction to what happens to us. I would much rather think of joy as a choice. I can choose to be joyful. I can wake up every morning and make a conscious decision to be open to joy. This is why Isaiah can say that “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul” (61:10) This is also why St. Paul can tell the Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord always” and just in case they didn’t quite get it: “Again, I say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

Why would I want to live any other way?

When we discover the Good News we are filled with joy and we have no option but to share it. In many ways it is the joy itself that we share – but that joy compels us to share the Good News. I think that is why Mary “went in haste” (Luke 1:39). We go in haste because we are so full of joy that we can’t keep the Good News to ourselves.

But, so many people are joy-less. There is so much bitterness, anger, depression, loneliness and hurt in the world. All of us know someone who needs joy in their life. Maybe some of you struggle with joy.

Not only is Advent a time to allow ourselves to be joyful, like Elizabeth, but also to bring that joy to others. Advent is a time to remind us that we need to rejoice always and when we rejoice we can say like Mary, “Holy is His name!”

During Advent we are called to:

Let the Holy Spirit fill us with Joy;

Choose Joy every day, and

Bring Joy to those who need it in their lives.

This is the Joy of the Gospel that is infectious; the joy of the lover who wants nothing but to proclaim their love to the world.

Let us Pray:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. Holy is His name.”

Come Light of the World and fill us with Joy to be the Voice that proclaims!

Categories:

Tags:

Third Sunday of Advent

Category: Advent and Christmas, Deacon-structing, General Posts, Mary, Saints and Blesseds

Tag: Advent, Christmas and Advent, Deaconstructing, Elizabeth, Gaudete Sunday, Joy, The Visitation, Third Sunday of Advent

Pray with the Pope Reflection – June 2025

Friday, June 13, 2025

Fr. Edmund Lo, SJ

In this month of June, the Holy Father invites us to pray that the world might grow in compassion, that each one of us might find consolation in a personal relationship with Jesus, and from his Heart, learn to have compassion on the world.

Chaplaincy: “Divine Coffee” for Students

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Gianpaolo Capozzi

Gianpaolo gives us a behind the scenes look at his upcoming Behold segment on the York University Catholic Chaplaincy.

Pope Leo XIV’s homily for Pentecost Sunday 2025

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Pope Leo XIV

On Sunday, June 8, 2025, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for the Jubilee of Movements, Associations, and New Communities and spoke about how the Holy Spirit helps the apostles overcome "their fear, shatters their inner chains, heals their wounds, anoints them with strength and grants them the courage to go out to all and to proclaim God’s mighty works."

Homily of Pope Leo XIV at the Mass for the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly and referred to Pope Francis and mentioned spouses who have been beatified and canonized, like the parents of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

Looking back on Rerum Novarum

Monday, May 26, 2025

Matthew Neugebauer

Pope Leo XIV chose his name primarily to highlight his most recent namesake Leo XIII, whose "historic encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question" to the challenges of his time. What concerns does the encyclical address? How does it speak to its time? And what has been its legacy 134 years later?