The Spirit of Holiness

Fourth Sunday of Advent

~~Isaiah 7:10-14~~Psalm 24~~Romans 1:1-7~~Matthew 1:18-24~~

Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith...

 Everything that makes the birth of Jesus a reality
is covered with the spirit of holiness.

 Heavenly angels and earthly people unite in holiness
 to carry out the will of the Father.
I guess when God's sends an angel to you
you would pay attention.
At least I hope that I would give the angel undivided attention.

The best family stories are shared every time the family gets together.

 Eventually even the youngest children know the stories

well enough to retell them.

Every year during the Advent season we gather together to hear the story

 of how Mary and Joseph came together

with the guidance of the angelic appearances

following the will of the Father.

Eventually we learn this story so well that we are eager

 to hear it one more time.

We can picture each of the characters.

We know the sequence of events.

We have internalized the dialogues.

We never grow tired of hearing this story over and over again.

The story of how God loves us so much that he humbles

himself to become one of us.

Not just one of us, but he came into this world as a helpless infant.

Jesus comes to us as a little child.

He did not come as the one the people had expected.

They expected a king and God sent a baby.

What a shock that must have been.

When we retell the story we too become participants

in the spirit of holiness.

Once we are inside of this holiness we realize

just how Blessed we are each day of our lives.

Retell the story...participate in the holiness...be filled with joy.

Tell yourself...God is with you...every day.