We had a really great time with the Sacred Heart Youth Group teens this past Sunday evening. As we gathered to spread some Christmas cheer by caroling at a couple of the Coshocton nursing homes, we started the evening in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to be at work. And boy, did He show up! There was one moment in particular that really struck me. A Sacred Heart parishioner named Sue received us at her room and most of the teens stayed outside and sang, but I felt a little nudge from the Holy Spirit to step into her room and I’m so glad I did. Sue was sitting in her chair in her living room singing along with the carols and absolutely beaming. I said later that if you could bottle up the emotion she was showing and sell it, you would be rich.
But the joy that Sue showed me this past Sunday was something more than mere happiness, I truly believe that moments like that are little glimpses into the glory of God at work in the human heart, filling it to overflowing with gratitude, love, and joy, LOTS of joy, overflowing joy! This is always the theme of the third Sunday of Advent, that joy that comes to us from the Holy Spirit, joy which can’t be dimmed by any earthly trial or suffering. The joy that the Holy Spirit wants to stir up in each of us at this Mass is a joy others need to see.
We hear a lot about joy from the world around us during this time of year, but the joy of the season envisioned by the world is fleeting, at best. There is a lot of talk about presents, and time with loved ones, but what is missed in both of those cases is that those are all occasions for opening up to deeper realities. It’s not just about the presents under the tree, but the PRESENCE of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, a gift which will never stop giving. As we heard the prophet Zephaniah say in the first reading, God “will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love.” This is one of the great gifts we have as Christians that we so often forget about or don’t even realize that we have, the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling within our hearts. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Person of that love shared between God the Father and God the Son for all eternity. The Spirit wants to fill each of us to overflowing during this Advent season, so that in the midst of the things we get and the people we are together with, we will know the superabundant, unfading joy of God’s personal presence within us. This is what makes for true joy, not just family, decorations, singing, and gifts, but the God who is here every moment dwelling with us to renew our hearts with His grace. This is the reason for celebration and can give us the joy that should truly be the foundation for us during this holy season of Advent.
This joy in the Spirit is great news, because it is not dependent on all those exterior things I’ve been mentioning. For many of us, this season may not have much exterior reason for joy. Some of us won’t be able to be around those we love. Some won’t have many presents under the tree. But all of us, regardless of circumstance, do have the Holy Spirit and He can fill us with the joy for which our hearts are made.
I invite you to pray an ancient prayer of the Church with me at this Mass; the prayer, “Come Holy Spirit.” Let’s pray those words together three times with all our heart: “Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit, Come, Holy Spirit!”
This prayer has power beyond what we can fully realize. It is a prayer which opens us up to the working of the Holy Spirit within, which gives us the opportunity to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, as St. John the Baptist speaks about in today’s Gospel. He tells us that Jesus will “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” The word baptize comes from a Greek word which means to plunge or immerse.
So what St. John the baptist describes is our being plunged into the fire of the Holy Spirit, that fire which can fill our hearts with the grace we need to joyfully serve others. When we look at the example of all the great saints, they show us the joy of hearts baptized in the Holy Spirit, plunged into the grace the Spirit brings. This is our call as baptized sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. He calls each of us to be plunged into the fire of the Spirit so that His joy can reign in our lives regardless of our circumstance, and touch the hearts of all those we meet.
+ Come Holy Spirit, fill us with your fire and bring us your joy today. Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of the Spirit that we have through the Baptism that Jesus gave us. Jesus, help us be attentive to the nudges of the Spirit whom you have given us as we continue to walk with you this Advent Season. We ask this in your Holy Name, Amen. +