+Dear Saint David Parishioners,
We are now celebrating the third Sunday of Advent and our entrance antiphon shouts out: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” What a hope-filled and joyous phrase to begin Gaudete Sunday. An announcement of 13 more days until the great and awesome day of God breaking into humanity as a little baby, to redeem our sinful souls. What a tremendous and awesome gift that should never be taken for granted.
God, Who is love, became a vulnerable and innocent baby because of the Blessed Mother, free from all stain of sin, and echoed her “Be it done unto me as you say.” Without full knowledge of what was to lie ahead, but with love and trust in God, Mary said, “Yes,” and the world has never been the same since.
Mary, our Blessed Mother, who loves us tenderly, wants us to come and know her Son whom she loves so much, and to experience a loving relationship with Him. The best of mothers, and the Blessed Mother is, invites us and urges us to encounter her Son so that each one of us experiences the deep peace for which each of us longs. As Saint Augustine so aptly wrote, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” This means no one and nothing can fill the gap in people’s hearts except God. God is love and He loves each one of us unconditionally, whether we believe it or not, or no matter if we accept it or not, because He is love and He cannot deny Himself.
Therefore, let us make it our aim for the remainder of this season of hope, to fill our hearts with Jesus through prayer and just time sitting with Him in silence that we may welcome Him in to fill that God-gap. May the Infant Jesus, our loving Savior and Redeemer, fill you and your loved ones with His peace, joy, and love this Christmas and throughout the New Year!
In Mary’s Immaculate Heart, I am,
Sister Mary