![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Gerrit_van_Honthorst_-_Adoration_of_the_shepherds.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Today we heard the prophet Isaiah say,
\n\u201cI rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul.\u201d
\nThe word \u201crejoice\u201d is repeated over and over in today\u2019s Gaudete Sunday liturgy,
\nfrom that reading of Isaiah,
\nto the responsorial psalm,
\n\u201cMy soul rejoices in my God,\u201d
\nand in Paul\u2019s letter to the Thessalonians,
\n\u201cRejoice always.\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019re only about a week away from Christmas,
\nand today we are reminded
\nthat Christmas is a time of rejoicing.<\/p>\n
There are many people whose faces shine with that spirit of rejoicing,
\nand who are filled with Christmas joy.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019ve talked with many other people this year
\nwho are struggling to rejoice right now.
\nThey are tired, they are weary.<\/p>\n
Some are weary of the situation the world is in:
\nviolence and war, politics and division, natural disasters.
\nOther people I talk with are struggling to make ends meet,
\nworried about loved ones,
\nfacing difficult health issues,
\nstruggling with anxiety and depression.
\nSome people are simply weary from all the busyness of the season:
\ngetting the house ready for guests,
\ntrying to get all the shopping done or the presents wrapped,
\ntracking down that special gift that is out of stock everywhere.<\/p>\n
For many right now, they are too weary to rejoice.<\/p>\n
When I think of those who are weary and maybe just a bit beaten down,
\nI am reminded of one of our most beautiful Christmas carols\u2014
\nmore of Christmas hymn, really, it is so beautiful.<\/p>\n
And whether you are struggling to rejoice,
\nor finding it easy to have a joyful spirit,
\nI think this Christmas hymn has a lot to offer all of us
\nas we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.<\/p>\n
The Christmas hymn I\u2019m talking about is \u201cO Holy Night,\u201d
\nand one line that really stands out,
\nwhen I think of all those who right now are struggling and tired,
\nis, \u201cthe weary world rejoices.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you are feeling weary right now,
\nthen this Christmas hymn is for you.
\nEven if you already have that Christmas joy,
\n\u201cO Holy Night\u201d can only increase it,
\nand it make it that much more real.<\/p>\n
\u201cO Holy Night\u201d was originally a poem, Even though Christmas is still a week away, Imagine what is was like in the long years before Christ was born: The Israelites waited centuries for their savior, their Messiah. To this day we<\/em> pine for God And yet, in all that sin and error, As St. Augustine put it so beautifully, And so the hymn proclaims, That may be the most beautiful line in the entire hymn. He appeared, Christ appeared. With the coming of Christ, Because of the birth of Christ, It is Christ who is the Good Shepherd, \u201cThe Spirit of the Lord is upon me, He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.<\/em><\/p>\n And so I would invite you to ask yourself today, A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,<\/em> Can you see it now, that new and glorious day? There is hope, a thrill of hope, and we can rejoice!<\/p>\n That\u2019s what Gaudete Sunday is about. And so, in this remaining week before Christmas, And after prayerfully listening to it, So maybe each day between now and Christmas, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.<\/em> Today we heard the prophet Isaiah say, \u201cI rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul.\u201d The word \u201crejoice\u201d is repeated over and over in today\u2019s Gaudete Sunday liturgy, from that reading of Isaiah, to the responsorial psalm, \u201cMy soul rejoices in my God,\u201d and in Paul\u2019s letter to the Thessalonians, \u201cRejoice always.\u201d We\u2019re only about a week away from Christmas, and today we are reminded that Christmas is a time of rejoicing. There are many people whose faces shine with that...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[349],"tags":[363,366,362,354,402,1204],"class_list":["post-8998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homily","tag-advent","tag-christmas","tag-gaudete-sunday","tag-gospel-of-john","tag-isaiah","tag-o-holy-night"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Gerrit_van_Honthorst_-_Adoration_of_the_shepherds.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pOucj-2l8","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8998"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9001,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8998\/revisions\/9001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nicksenger.com\/onecatholiclife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nwritten in French by Placide Cappeau,
\nand as many of you know,
\nit begins like this:
\nO holy night, the stars are brightly shining,<\/em>
\nIt is the night of the dear Savior\u2019s birth;<\/em><\/p>\n
\nlet\u2019s visualize Christmas as it was in Bethlehem so many years ago,
\nthe sky filled with stars.<\/p>\n
\nLong lay the world in sin and error pining,<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThey suffered through slavery,
\nthey were exiled to Assyria and Babylon,
\nthey were conquered by the Greeks and the Romans,
\nand still they longed for their deliverer.<\/p>\n
\nin sin and error.
\nIn our selfishness and in our pain
\nwe turn away from God.<\/p>\n
\nthere is a seeking, a yearning,
\na restlessness,
\na pining for meaning, for purpose,
\nfor God.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cOur hearts are restless, O God, until they rest in thee.”<\/p>\n
\nLong lay the world in sin and error pining,<\/em>
\n‘Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u2026he appeared and the soul felt its worth.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nAnd what happens next?
\nThe soul feels its worth.
\nThe coming of the Messiah makes our soul feel its worth.
\nThe prophet Isaiah tells us today,
\n\u201cin my God is the joy of my soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nthe soul now feels how beloved it is.<\/p>\n
\nwe know who we are,
\nand we know that we are loved.<\/p>\n
\nwho leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one who is lost.
\nIt is Christ who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah
\nwe heard in the first reading,
\nwhen he stood up in the synagogue and read from the scroll:<\/p>\n
\nbecause he has anointed me
\nto bring glad tidings to the poor.
\nHe has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
\nand recovery of sight to the blind,
\nto let the oppressed go free\u2026”<\/p>\n
\nDo you feel your worth?
\nIt doesn\u2019t matter if you are a slave to addiction, or if you are free;
\nit doesn\u2019t matter if you are rich or poor, broken or whole.
\nYou have worth.
\nYou belong.
\nYou matter.
\nYou are loved,
\neach one of you.
\nAnd each of the people sitting next to you, and across from you,
\nand each of the people who aren\u2019t here,
\nfor whatever reason.
\nThey, too, are loved,
\nwherever they are on their spiritual journey.
\nThey have worth.
\nThey have dignity,
\nthey are loved.
\nBecause on Christmas night,
\nJesus Christ was born,
\nand the soul felt its worth.<\/p>\n
\nFor yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;<\/em><\/p>\n
\nCan you see beyond the weariness,
\nbeyond the doubts and fears?<\/p>\n
\nIt\u2019s about giving us a glimpse,
\nan early experience of Christmas joy.<\/p>\n
\none thing you might do
\nis find yourself a beautiful rendition of \u201cO Holy Night.\u201d
\nThere are versions for every musical taste: classical, country, pop, jazz,
\nby musicians as diverse as
\nJosh Groban, Martina McBride, Mariah Carey,
\nElla Fitzgerald, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Faith Hill,
\nyou name it,
\nthere are over 1,000 recordings of this Christmas hymn.
\nFind a version on YouTube or Spotify or Apple Music,
\nand listen to it every day leading up to Christmas.
\nOr maybe you could listen to a different rendition each day.<\/p>\n
\ncontemplate that line,
\n\u2019Til he appeared, and the soul felt its worth,\u201d<\/em>
\nand try to feel your own worth.
\nIt\u2019s one thing to know it intellectually:
\n“Yes, I understand, I am a child of God,
\nGod created me,
\nI know that.”
\nIt\u2019s one thing to know that in the mind.
\nIt\u2019s quite another things to feel it in our souls,
\nto be able to say with the prophet Isaiah,
\n\u201cin my God is the joy of my soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nyou can take some time to pause in your day,
\nmaybe five, ten, or even fifteen minutes,
\nclose your eyes,
\nand feel God looking at you with the eyes of love.
\nA love so great that he became a little child,
\nthat he walked this earth
\nbringing glad tidings to the poor,
\nhealing the brokenhearted,
\ngoing to the outcasts and the oppressed,
\nand loving them.
\nUntil finally he accepted the cross,
\ndoing all of this so that our soul would feel its worth,
\nso that we would have a thrill of hope,
\nand a weary world could rejoice.<\/p>\n
\nFall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!<\/em>
\nO night divine! O night when Christ was born.<\/em>
\nO night, O holy night, O night divine.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"