The Circle of Light
By Fr. James Conlon
St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Ann Arbor

By now you will have seen all four candles on the Advent wreath light. The circle of light is complete. We have prepared with joy- filled anticipation and now the moment is almost upon us. Soon the Christ-child will once more enter our world bringing his light, peace and truth. In these last days of Advent we are called to ride further into that truth, to join Mary and Joseph as they journey to the lowly and seemingly unimportant town Bethlehem, in hope, anticipation and humility.

This Sunday the great mysteries of the first three weeks of Advent converge into the mysterious truth that the Lord Jesus, the long awaited savior, was carried in the womb of a simple girl from Palestine that the Baptist, whose strong voice once rang out across the Jordan River, is now silent: yet his actions speak volumes as he leaps for joy in the womb of his mother on encountering the unborn Jesus. Gone too are the noisy crowds, instead there stands two pregnant women, wrapped in the embrace of greeting, their hearts full of emotion and perhaps a little trepidation. Here the generations meet: Elizabeth, in the autumn of her years becomes the prophet as she declares the woman of the springtime of salvation to be "blessed" and her unborn child to "the Lord".

Both are women of extraordinary faith, open to the presence of God, ready to do his bidding, ready to trust his Word. God has a special love for the unimportant and powerless people and places in our world: the simple virgin of Nazareth, the elderly childless couple in the hill country, the backwater towns of Nazareth and Bethlehem, all take center stage in the great drama of salvation. Do we recognize the glory of God in unimportant people and places? Do we drop a veil over the poverty and pain in the world around us? Do we place countless wrapped gifts under our tree and ignore the supreme gift of God: his own Son, wrapped in our human flesh, wrapped in the colors of the human race with the shape of every person especially the poor, the unimportant and powerless.

Today the circle of light on our Advent wreath is completed. How can we embrace with the warmth and joy it symbolizes, those who are in deepest need of both? For many who are bereaved, lonely, divorced, homeless or hungry, what stirs may be sad or bitter comparisons with happier past Christmases. Can we help? Can we open our hearts to others and share with them the light of Christmas truth? That's where the true joy of Christmas lies!

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 1.39-45

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

The Gospel of the Lord