By John Desing csc –
Readings: Song 2:8-14; Lk 1:39-45
The readings of the day invite us to recall the reason why we celebrate the birth of Christ with joy and jubilation. We rejoice because we received the greatest gift ever from Almighty God in the person of Christ.
The season of Christmas is therefore a time to come together as a family to celebrate the joy of being together just as the two cousins; Mary and Elizabeth rejoice at their meeting after a long time. The visitation of Mary to Elizabeth is exemplary to all of us because it reveals the gesture of love and concern for others by Mary.
During this season of Christmas, do we think of making someone joyful by offering a Christmas gift, greeting card, or meeting our friends and family members and spreading the vibration of joy and love to them? It is the right moment to express our kindness and concern for the poor and the less fortunate by sharing our material things and spending time with them.
We are called to be agents of hope and share the good news to those in prisons, hospitals, and old age homes just as Mary did to his older cousin Elizabeth. In doing so, we will be rewarded as the “Blessed ones”.
Our acts of kindness and care for others should be rooted in the generous acts of God, the Father who gratuitously gave his only son for humanity. We need to become generous givers, for in giving we find joy. During this Covid-19 pandemic, the suffering in the world is so much that many are in need of hope, love, and kindness more than money and security. We are called to go in haste to reach out to the needy and to those who do not have any cousin to visit them.