I don’t mean to be a curmudgeon, but oftentimes, I don’t feel like rejoicing when I enter the House of the Lord. God knows we have plenty of troubles. Do we really have reason to rejoice?
Yes, we have reason to rejoice! The season of Advent is the perfect time to contemplate why—even if we don’t feel like it. The reason lies in the faith, hope and love given to us by God.
Therefore, let’s energize our faith with the Good News that comes from Heaven! As Pope Francis said: Advent helps us transform hope into the certainty that the one we await “loves us and will never abandon us.” We see this faith, hope, and love in the gift of the Holy Eucharist.
Eucharistic Faith
During Advent, we contemplate the first coming of Christ for our salvation. Imagine the Blessed Virgin Mary saying yes to God’s will at the Annunciation, accepting Jesus within her. Our Lady lived her Eucharistic faith even before the Eucharist was instituted.
When we partake in the Eucharistic celebration, we are called to live our Eucharistic faith. At Mass, the altar is prepared to receive our offerings of bread and wine to become the Body and Blood of Jesus. The Church’s intention is that we learn to offer our very selves faithfully to our Lord.
Each time we accept the Eucharist, we say yes to carry Christ in our body, mind, heart, and soul. Our Savior is within us! Truly that is reason to rejoice!
Hope and Joy
Christ within her, Mary proclaimed the greatness of the Lord in her Magnificat during her visit with her cousin Elizabeth. Like Mary, let us “sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done marvelous deeds” [Psalm 98:1]. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary at the Annunciation and the Spirit of the Lord shone through Mary at the Visitation.
As we participate in the Eucharistic celebration, do we feel hope and joy when the celebrant invokes the Holy Spirit upon our offerings of bread and wine? With the Transubstantiation—changing our gifts into the Body and Blood of Christ—we have heaven on earth! We are witnesses to the greatest miracle!
Gaze upon the Eucharist. Think of the hope and joy Mary and Joseph shared when Christ was born and with those who witnessed Jesus’ first coming. After seeing the infant Jesus, the shepherds glorified and praised God. Mary and Joseph later presented baby Jesus at the Temple. There, Simeon recognized his Savior and blessed God. Truly we have reason to rejoice!
Greatest Love
Simeon also foretold Mary of the great sacrifice to come. Jesus came into the world to offer up his body, blood, soul, and divinity for our salvation. This sacrifice is re-presented to us in the Eucharistic celebration. We are then led into Communion with our Lord.
Through the Eucharist, Christ feeds our faith, hope and especially love. Christ comes to us to become one with us. Therefore, on the days of great anxiety when we cannot find Jesus in our lives, turn to Mary and Joseph for guidance. After three days of searching, they found young Jesus in his Father’s House.
We find the Holy Eucharist in the House of our Lord. What great joy there is in receiving Jesus in the Eucharist! Emmanuel…God is with us—as a newborn baby in a manger two millennia ago, and as our Savior in the Eucharist today. Let us rejoice!
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