The graces of trust, joy and meaning

Dec. 17—Third Sunday of Advent

Readings: Is 61:1-2A, 10-11; Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54, R. My soul rejoices in my God.; 1 Thes 5:16-24; Gospel—John 1:6-8, 19-28Trust, joy and meaning—these are the graces that we need to live a fully human life, according to the late eminent theologian Fr. Hans Kung.

Let us reflect on each of the three graces. Today being Gaudete Sunday, we will reflect on the grace of joy as the pivot grace that leads to meaning.

Father Kung wrote in one of his last books before dying that the grace of trust is foundational. It is a foundational orientation toward life, very similar to the fundamental option of moral theology.

It is the orientation that makes us trust others, trust life in general and trust God. Trust gives us a sense of freedom to be open, to explore and to get out of our comfort zone.

The Filipino word is so vivid, pagtitiwala. We entrust ourselves to God, to others and to life. This gives us freedom.

Our best example for this is a child. I watched some of my grandnephews/nieces as they learned to walk on their own.

They learn to stand up, balance themselves and take the first steps. These are tentative baby steps, but as they gain confidence they explore, move around more freely and the best part is how they smile when they realize their newfound capability and the freedom to move around.

Trust process

This is the trust process, how to build trust and make it one’s fundamental orientation toward life. It begins in trusting oneself and trusting one’s environment, which as a child consists mostly of the people around us.

When people who care for a child fuss too much or are overprotective, it takes longer to build the trust, and this can at times retard its development by inflicting traumas, which for adults may seem benign, but for a young kid can be a harrowing experience.

We trust people. We trust our environment. It is a safe environment. And as we grow older it is this safe environment that nurtures our emotional, psychological and even spiritual growth and development.

The safe environment can and must grow into a sacred environment or sacred space where one can discover a relationship with God.

All these are interior experiences of growth and development, and the joy becomes the pivot grace.

Let us go back to the smile on a child’s face when he/she discovers the ability to walk. It is a smile that comes from an interior joy.

This interior joy is what we see in the Gospel passage on the visitation of the Blessed Mother of her cousin Elizabeth in Luke, when Elizabeth exclaims, “The moment your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.”

In his book, “The Second Mountain,” David Brooks talks about moral joy in people who have discovered what is essential in life, and which brings an inner peace and equanimity that allows them to make a commitment to something or someone that is important.

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Prepare the way

It is this joy that brings meaning.

This is the joy of John the Baptist who as an infant in the womb of Elizabeth leaped for joy when he felt the presence of Jesus in the womb of the Blessed Mother.

It is this joy that leads John the Baptist to a life of meaning as the one who will prepare the way of the Lord, “make straight the way of the Lord.” (cf. John 1:6-8, 19-28)

This joy we proclaim today, Gaudete Sunday, is always a joy in the Lord. It is the joy of His coming birth as man, as God with us. It is the joy of Easter. It is the joy we anticipate in His coming again in glory.

This joy is the pivot grace in which the meaning of our life is rooted and grounded. This joy is Jesus, and the meaning of our life is Jesus.

Isaiah wrote, “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul …” (cf. Is 61:1-2A, 10-11).

St. Paul proclaims, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” (Philippians 4)

This Gaudete Sunday, may we revisit our journey from building trust to experiencing joy, and in this joy discovering Jesus who will come as man this Christmas, that he may lead us on the path to the joy of Easter.We celebrate and proclaim with joy the great mystery our faith that started with the child in the manger: “Christ has died. Christ is Risen. Christ will come again.” —Contributed INQ