Second Week of Advent: Hoping With Joy
As we continue our advent journey with Mary, the Cause of our Joy, let’s contemplate Mary’s hope.
In every mass, after we pray the Our Father, the priest prays that we be delivered from evil, free from sin and “safe from all distress as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Mary’s hope transformed all her sorrows, disappointments, and her gray days of waiting into meaning, purpose, and even joy. Hope, the theological virtue by which we desire unending happiness in perfect communion with Christ, reminds us to leave our self-reliance to the side and place our trust in Christ’s transforming power and the grace of his Holy Spirit. (CCC 1817)
Perhaps Our Lady took courage meditating on how her people had been exiled and their hope did not disappoint: “Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height and look toward the east, ..God will bring them back to you carried in glory and God will lead Israel with Joy…..The restored exiles of Jerusalem will become the heavenly Jerusalem where ultimately all the redeemed would enjoy everlasting life. ” (Bar 5: 5-9)
Daily life, with its joys and sorrows, multiple commitments and full agendas, can make us forget that we, too, are exiles in this world–pilgrims on our path to heaven. We long for God, who alone is our peace and our fortress in the midst of the decisions, challenges and burdens we carry.
As we set out each new day, we need Mary’s help to live in joyful hope of the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Hope is that anchor of our soul that steadies us to fix our eyes on Christ in the ordinary and extraordinary circumstances of our days. Keeping our gaze fixed on His gaze and the Heavenly Jerusalem that awaits his faithful ones maintains our spiritual joy.
Mary is joyful in her hope because she transcends her own personal life and intercedes for this fulfillment of hope in each one of us, her children. She knows that her son is the hope of all people who yearn for more than this life can offer. She hopes and believes that through her child, who is God himself, we are saved from darkness, sin and death. With her attuned motherly presence, she puts her faith, hope and love into action at Cana and everywhere, hoping and trusting in His loving providence at every moment.
Mary, bless me with your own joyful hope for the coming of Jesus once again into my heart. Teach me to intercede, as you did, for all mankind this Christmas, that “all flesh will see the salvation of God.” (Lk 3:6)
