“Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Luke 1:42).

Today we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent. In a few days Christmas will be here. Today’s readings prepare us for the upcoming feast of Christmas by bringing together the major themes of the first three Sundays of Advent, namely, (1) Hope for God’s promise to be realized in our lives, (2) Peace by our repentant transformation, (3) Joy for Christ Savior’s coming and to culminate in today’s major theme, which is (4) Love of our compassionate and merciful God as His wonderful gift to the world.

These themes, Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, remind us that the mystery of the Incarnation out of God’s infinite and unmerited Love comes to us ordinary people living in ordinary lives, need to have our willingness and openness to do God’s will and to respond to God’s invitation to experience His  compassionate and merciful Love. Today’s readings suggest that we should not celebrate Christmas as just an occasion for nice feelings like any other day. Instead, our commemoration of Jesus' birth should inspire us to respond decisively to God’s compassionate and merciful Love, to carry out God's word as Virgin Mary and Jesus did, in perfect obedience to do His will, thus to become true disciples of Jesus Christ and the adopted sons and daughters of God out of the divine Love.

God does not want us holding a relationship of Transaction but Transformation. Therefore, Dynamic Christian disciples are those who (1) BELIEVE, (2) GROW, (3) SERVE, (4) LOVE and (5) LEAD others to Jesus. Today’s topics invite us to appreciate the Love of our compassionate and merciful God as His wonderful gift to the world.

How can we help each other accept God’s compassionate and merciful Love, recognize the real loving presence of the Emmanuel (God is with us) in the Holy Eucharist, the Bible, the Sacraments and the gathered praying community, carry Jesus to others as Mary did?

Wishing everyone a blessed week in the Lord.