God's Promise
“Behold, you will conceive and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus…the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” A promise made to Mary by God through the angel Gabriel. It has been called the greatest story ever told, perhaps we should label it the greatest promise ever made.
We make promises all year round, but especially during the Christmas season, where we promise to get our Christmas cards out, we promise to call those distant relatives we rarely speak to, we promise to get all our shopping done. One promise we Catholics make every year is to capture that Advent spirit, to feel the hope of all the world brought by the birth of Jesus. We promise we will be different, more grateful, better this year.
While we often fall short of our profound promises, God’s promise, Jesus the Christ, is more than we could ever hope. One of the readings for the weekday Mass was for us to carry the yoke of Christ… a promise to never be left alone… a promise to never be far from each one of us. This promise is the source for our Advent hope, the source of that feeling of being close to God, the source of all light.
Throughout all our neighborhoods we will see light penetrating the darkness, hope overcoming despair. Many of us capture that hope and joy easily, some struggle, but all are in the light, all are family.