WHAT'S YOUR GIFT

WHAT’S youR GIfT?

 

“Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.” – Philippians 4:5

 

It was my mom’s birthday and we celebrated it with a dinner party at home. She invited friends to come over and, as people normally do at birthday celebrations, they arrived with gifts. My sister, who was then still a child, stood at our foyer to welcome guests as they arrived and to receive their gifts for Mommy. When a couple from our neighborhood came, my sister kissed them and then expectantly awaited their gift. When they didn’t hand her a present, she demanded, “Where’s your gift for my mom?” The couple was embarrassed because they didn’t know it was a birthday celebration and, consequently, didn’t bring a present.

My mom overhead what my sister said and immediately came to our neighbors’ rescue. They got off the hook but my sister got a severe whacking. It’s less than two weeks before the birthday celebration of the most important Person who walked the face of the earth. For sure you’ve started preparing for the endless parties and the long gift list for your loved ones. Just one reminder: don’t show up at the party without a gift for the Celebrant.

So what’s your gift to Jesus this Christmas? Rissa Singson-Kawpeng

 

REFLECTION:

Determine today what you will give Jesus on His birthday. It could be an extraordinary act of generosity, a vice you’ll give up or more time spent at prayer. Whatever it is, be sure it’s a gift that He’d like to receive!

 

What birthday gift do You want from me, Jesus?

 

 

A deepeR kind Of JOy

 

The third Sunday of Advent is known liturgically as “Gaudete” Sunday. It’s the Latin word for “Rejoice!” This is God’s invitation to us today: to rejoice and be glad, for the simple reason that the Lord is truly near and about to come.

While joy and gladness might indeed be the most spontaneous of feelings, it is still something that should be prepared for, in a sense. The lyrics of a song in the anti-apartheid Broadway musical “Sarafina!” says, “Freedom is coming tomorrow... Get ready... prepare for your freedom.” Similarly, our Lord’s imminent arrival might make us happy and excited, but it can also catch us off guard — that is, if we are not prepared. It is not something that just suddenly falls down on your lap and then you don’t know what to do with it. In that way you hardly appreciate it. So it is also with the Good News of Christ’s coming: we have to be ready for it so we can appreciate and interiorize its full value and meaning.

We understand better now why in our Gospel today, there is a certain insistence for a practical and concrete lifestyle in keeping with an authentic conversion — as a preparation for the coming of the Messiah.

Indeed, the value of practical preparation. Again this might seem in contradiction with the nature of joy which is spontaneous and natural. But when you think of it, we’re talking of a deeper kind of joy here. Unless you’d rather settle for the cheap, “pirated” substitutes? The original meaning, in fact, of the word “merry” in the ubiquitous greeting these days (“Merry Christmas”) is not just “happy” or “joyful” or “pleasurable.” There is a deeper, more spiritual sense to it, as in “peaceful,” “holy,” “blessed.” John the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus, as well as his recommendations, can all be for us a doable “project of life” which can guarantee such blessedness and joy. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

Do I experience joy and gladness of a deeper kind as Christmas approaches? If not, what might be preventing me from having real joy and gladness at the Lord’s coming?

 

Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to free my heart from anything that prevents me from experiencing real joy that can only come from You.

 

St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr, pray for us.