Finding Joy In The Midst of Advent

Today, Gaudete Sunday, is the midpoint in the Advent Season. It is a day of rejoicing that the Lord will return in glory. Many times though, the realization that Christmas is just ten days away causes stress when we consider all we have to do between now and then! There's decorating, grocery shopping, baking, cleaning, the gifts we still have to buy, the handwritten cards, letters and e-cards. The list goes on and on. We can just feel overwhelmed and ask ourselves how can a season of joy cause so much anxiety! 

I know this sounds counterintuitive but maybe the remedy to this situation is simply to come to a full stop, sit quietly for 30 minutes and remind ourselves that in ten days’ time, we will celebrate the mysterious love story of God for all the human race. It will take more than a few minutes to jettison from our minds and hearts all the “I should be doing this or that” feelings and not to feel guilty for not doing one more thing on our checklist. We need to take a deep breath and as these distractions come up, we need to remind ourselves that the checklist will still be there in a half an hour. Let go of them all and place them into the hands of our Guardian Angel.  (Yes, there really are Guardian Angels who care for us.)  

Then, in the stillness, give thanks to God for his love for us. Count the many blessings we have been given – the gifts of life, family, friends, and this day. We can give thanks to Him too for the many trials and losses we have faced because He is always at our side. Give thanks to God for our faith which gives us a reason to hope that one day all of our trials will be forgotten as we enjoy the light of His face.  

This meditation won’t remove all of the work we have to accomplish, but it may help us to approach the work in a new way. Our tasks could become our ministry of love for God and others if we want them to be. Every floor we clean, every pot we scrub, every gift we wrap could become a moment of great interior joy and a small gift to the newborn King who will return again in glory. We have to avoid the temptation of becoming a “martyr” because we are doing all the work. But we can be a joyful person if, like Mother Teresa once said, “We do small things with great love.”

 Gaudete! There is a reason for rejoicing here.