Leaped

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

Here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices.  My lover speaks; he says to me, “Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come!  “For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone.  The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land.  Song of Songs 2:9B-12

“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.”  Luke 1:44-45

Piety

What does the presence of someone do to you?

Study

In our reading from Songs, the lover is compared to a gazelle at the gates.  All senses come alive.  The lover speaks.  We see that winter is past.  We hear the songs of nature.  We work with our hands to prune the trees. 

We have a big window at the back of our house.  Through it, we can regularly see deer, wild turkeys and other animals passing through our yard.  They will approach the house and stand there not even noticing us inside.  When they approach, we’ll often run to get a camera to “capture” the sight of nature so up close and personal.

Think of the excitement you get waiting for a visitor either at home or arriving at Union Station or National Airport.  Maybe you have been anticipating the arrival for weeks (or even months) when the day finally arrives.  That joy is only exceeded by the energy of the surprise visitor who comes home when you least expect them.  A college student stealing home for the weekend.  A sibling showing up unannounced for the holidays.

Elizabeth experiences and exclaims how such presence affects her own emotional state and the baby growing inside her.   At the very moment her cousin Mary arrived, her heart and her baby leaped for joy.

Action

In Cursillo, we often talk with our group reunions of the close moments we have with Christ.  Those moments occur because we make ourselves aware of how others represent Christ coming into our world. In days, we will celebrate the divine touching the human, the infinite infant touching the finite.  Yet Christmas is not only a season but can be a regular occurrence when we are open to being aware of such encounters, to such epiphanies.

These Little Christmases happen in our lives.  We must stay alert to sense when they occur.  Listen to what is being spoken to us through others.  Who will be your herald angel this week announcing Christ among you and your family?  To whom will you be the herald angel?