The Christmas season is filled with expectations of joy. Images of jolly Saint Nick, smiling snowmen, and grinning children abound. Franciscan joy, though, is not about constant cheer and optimism. Francis believed perfect joy is achieved by developing the ability to endure all the pleasant and unpleasant experiences of life with the perfect peace that comes from trusting in God. Advent itself is an opportunity to experience the joy that comes from trusting that God will deliver exactly what is needed to save us. What can you entrust to God this Christmas season?
Reflection
“Joy is the true gift of Christmas, not expensive presents that demand time and money. We can transmit this joy simply: with a smile, with a kind gesture, with some small help, with forgiveness. Let us give this joy and the joy given will be returned to us. Let us seek in particular to communicate the deepest joy, that of knowing God in Christ. Let us pray that this presence of God’s liberating joy will shine out in our lives.”
— Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI, Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dec. 18, 2005
Team Discussion
- What can you entrust to God this Christmas season to make more room for peace, joy, and calm?
- How can you “transmit this joy simply” to your patients, colleagues, and loved ones this month?
Dates to Remember
December 1 | World AIDS Day
December 1 - 24 | Advent
December 6 | Saint Nicholas’s Feast Day
December 12 | Saint Vincent’s Foundation Day
December 25 | Christmas
December 27 | Saint John’s Feast Day
December 29 | Feast of the Holy Family