WITH JOY AND TRUST

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (B) 18 December 2011

 WITH JOY AND TRUST

Luke 1, 26-38

José Antonio Pagola

Rev.Fr.Vally SJ

 The Second Vatican Council presents Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, as the “prototype and model of the Church”, and describes her as a humble woman who listens to God with trust and joy. In the Church, we need to listen to God with the same attitude.

   “Rejoice!” It’s the first thing that Mary hears from God and the first thing we need to hear today too. There’s no joy among us. We frequently allow the weight of  an antiquated, drained out Church to affect us with sadness. Is Jesus no longer Good News? Do we not feel the joy of being his followers? Where there is no joy, faith loses its freshness; warmth and cordiality disappear; friendship among believers grows cold; everything becomes more difficult. We urgently need to revive joy in our communities and recover the peace Jesus left us as a legacy.

   “The Lord is with you.” In the Church of our times joy doesn’t come easily. It can only be born of trust in God. We are not orphans. Everyday we keep invoking God as a Father who accompanies us, protects us, and seeks the good of every human being.

   This Church, at times so confused and lost that it does not succeed in returning to the Gospel, is not alone. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, seeks us. His Spirit draws us. We can count on his inspiration and understanding. Jesus has not abandoned us. With him, everything is possible.

   “Do not be afraid.” So many fears paralyze the followers of Jesus: fear of the modern world and of secularization; fear of an uncertain future; fear of our weakness; fear of conversion to the Gospel. Fear is doing us much harm: it prevents us facing the future with hope; it locks us into a fruitless preservation of the past; it haunts us with growing forebodings; it puts an end to  healthy realism and Christian wisdom. We need a Church built on trust. The power of God is not revealed in a powerful Church. It manifests itself in a humble Church.

   “You will bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.”  A mission is entrusted to us too , as it is to Mary: to contribute to generating light in the midst of the darkness. We are not called to judge the world but to sow hope.  Our task is not to put out the wick to extinguish it, but to ignite the faith in so many in whom it is ready to burst into flame: God is a question that humanizes.

   By means of our communities, increasingly small and humble, we can become the leaven for a more healthy and fraternal world. We are in good hands. God is not in  crisis. It is we who do not dare to follow Jesus with joy and trust. 

Spread joy and trust in the Church.

Source: URL of José Antonio Pagola's Buenas Noticias Web site:

http://sanvicentemartirdeabando.org

Website for Spanish original and translations: www.eclesalia.net

Jose Antonio Pagola,  vgentza@euskalnet.net , San Sebastian, Guipuzcoa, Spain.
English Translation by  Valentine)de Souza S.J.   Mandal, Gujarat , India.
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