Contagious Joy
"…Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste." (Luke 1:39)
"…Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste." (Luke 1:39)
What joy Mary must have felt in her heart at the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit! Heaven meets earth. The divine joy fills her heart and her entire being. She, a simple young girl, is bearing the Messiah in her womb. Miracle of miracles! She must have been bursting with joy as she hurried to share the good news with her cousin, Elizabeth, the only one who could believe and understand this indescribable joy that she felt because she too was experiencing a powerful miracle.
Imagine their greeting, one filled with new life in her barren womb, the other bearing the Author of Life himself in her virginal womb. What an explosion of joy in their meeting, to the point that the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy at the sound of Mary’s greeting and Mary burst out in a joy-filled song of praise to God in the Magnificat.
Pope Paul VI once wrote: “Joy is the result of a human-divine communion.” How blessed we are as Catholic Christians to experience that intimate human-divine communion in the sacraments and especially in the Eucharist. I’m reminded of the joy I felt in my heart as a child at my First Communion. I had a joyful anticipation and yearning in my heart to receive little Jesus.
Let us ask the Blessed Mother to share her joy with us, that we may be childlike with pure joyful anticipation to welcome and celebrate Jesus on his birthday. He is the gift that keeps on giving: joy, goodness, freedom, love and abundant life now and for all eternity. Come, O Come Emmanuel, God with us!
Have you ever felt the joy of the Lord so deeply that you could hardly contain it?
Blessed Mother, please share your contagious pure joy with us. May your Spouse, the Holy Spirit flood our hearts with childlike joy, love and wonder as we prepare to welcome Jesus this Christmas and to share Him with others as you did. Amen.
Alicia Goodwin is the Director of the Marian Servants of Divine Providence®, a Public Association of the Faithful of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, and a community of Spirit-filled men and women guiding God’s people to healing, freedom and purpose in Christ through healing prayer, spiritual direction, and retreats. Their Cenacle of Our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spiritual Direction® offers certification for spiritual directors in association with Franciscan University of Steubenville. They are located at Our Lady of Divine Providence House of Prayer® by Old Tampa Bay in Clearwater, FL. where all are welcome to attend Masses, Adoration and special speaker events. Alicia holds a Master’s in Theological Studies from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX and a B.A. in Languages and Linguistics from Florida Atlantic University. She and her husband Lee have 3 children, 4 grandchildren and one adorable great grandchild. For more information on the Marian Servants please visit www.divineprovidence.org.
