{UAH} Advent Reflections by Bishop Robert Barron - Day 15

Advent Day 15

The Keys to Real Joy

Today marks Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday of rejoicing. How many of us spontaneously associate God and joy? In one sense, it is part of the tragedy of sin that we don't. In our alienation from God, we experience him as judge, as distant and demanding. But God's whole business is joy. He is a communion, a community of joy in his own inner life. He created everything as a joyous act of self-communication and seeks, above all, to share his joy with us. Our readings for this Gaudete Sunday contain a treasure-trove of hints and recommendations in regard to being joyful. The first key to joy is allowing the Holy Spirit to live in you. The Spirit is the love that connects the Father and the Son. So pray for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which gives you fervor and a sense of mission and divine purpose.  The second key to joy is allowing Christ to clean out the spirits of jealousy, hatred, violence, and self-absorption from your life. Will the work be a tad painful? Of course, but it is the necessary preparation for happiness. When we do this, we realize something of great important: God's joy is to produce joy in us. Listen to what the prophet Zephaniah says: "He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love. He will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals" (Zephaniah 3:17). What a wonderful co-inherence of divine and human joy that we celebrate in this third week of Advent!

Paul Mugerwa