Question of the Week - The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
A friend and I recently enjoyed a Saturday drive up to the beautiful countryside of northeastern Ohio. On the way, she played a mix of music, including Christmas carols and favorite holiday standards. It prompted me to ask her, “What is your favorite Christmas carol?” She replied that she likes carols that speak of night and silence and stillness. I shared that my favorites are the joyful “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Joy to the World,” and “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice!”
The angels in today’s Gospel (see Luke 2:1-14, from the Mass at Midnight) tell us that theirs is the good news of great joy meant for all people. It is Good News meant for the whole world.
It has been a year of change, confusion, anxiety, and fear. I have often written of what a temptation it could be to close ranks, stay in the safe shelter of our own homes, and think only of our self-care and self-preservation. Nevertheless, there is a much larger picture. There is a world filled with people who still need to hear the Good News of great joy.
Christmas is not just a day; it is a season. It is not too late to speak the healing word, send a message of encouragement, give a gift that says “I am thinking of you,” donate to a ministry serving your community’s and the world’s most vulnerable people, or intentionally create some opportunities for the proclamation of joy and Good News in your family and home. Such actions have ripple effects that carry joy’s message out into the world, proclaiming God’s glory beyond our original hopes and intentions.
Merry Christmas to all! Today, and throughout the Christmas season, join me not just in singing, but in proclaiming: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King!”
“Joy to the World”
Text: Isaac Watts
Mary Sellars Malloy has over forty years’ experience as a Catholic educator and lay minister. She is a frequent workshop presenter on prayer, liturgy, spirituality, the Sacraments, and the RCIA. Also, Mary leads retreats and parish missions throughout the country. Her goal is to encourage Catholics of all ages to appreciate and to live their Catholic faith.