There is something rather lovely about bare tree branches, black tracings against the muted sky, against the evergreen trees which just a few weeks ago offered a backdrop to the flora of summer and the blazing colors of autumn, but which now flesh out the landscape and become a focal point—both indoors and out. We are so hungry for vegetation in the winter that not only do we often decorate our snow-frosted evergreen trees outdoors with twinkle lights, we also bring them indoors to decorate with more twinkle lights, with ribbons and fruit and ornaments, and we fashion their branches into wreaths and garlands. They are a visual and olfactory delight as they add color and scent our lives during the cold, dark days of the season. Winter can be bleak with its freezing temperatures and weak sunlight, but is also made exciting when in context of the changing seasons. To have the respite of a quiet winter after a long, blistering, glaring summer, and then to have the respite of a golden summer after a long, frigid, grey winter balances our perspective. Joy and sorrow offer the same balance.
How can we truly understand the depth of joy without having also experienced its counter-part? Such is life: we cannot appreciate—truly appreciate—any life situation without experiencing its absence. As Christians, we have two main Holy Days in the calendar year: Easter and Christmas. While Easter is an ecstatic celebration of Christ’s Resurrection, that joy comes at the cost of His passion and death. Christmas, though, is pure joy. We cannot understand the absolute, pure joy of the birth of the Christ Child without understanding His passion to come. Pope Francis addresses this polarity and points out that the balance offered by joy and suffering is not just an equalization of emotion but bears forth something bigger. In the experience of both joy and sorrow, we overflow with peace:
We must tell the truth: Christian life not just one big party. Not at all! We cry, we
cry so many times. When we are sick; when we have a problem with our son, in
the family, with our daughter, or wife, or husband; When we see that our salary
does not reach the end of the month and we have a sick child; when we see
that we cannot pay the mortgage on the house and we must somehow
survive.
…Be courageous in suffering and remember that the Lord will come after, joy will
come after and after the dark comes the sun. May the Lord give us all this joy in
hope. And the sign that we have this joy in hope is peace. How many sick, who
are at the end of life, in pain, have that peace of soul … This is the seed of joy,
this is the joy of hope and peace. Do you have peace of soul in times of
darkness, in times of trouble, in times of persecution, when everyone else
rejoices at your suffering? Do you have peace? If you have peace, you have the
seed of joy that will come later. May the Lord help us understand these things.
The Advent wreath helps us as a road map of sorts as we journey through this season of hope and expectation. There are hints of sorrow to come, but we can put off that sorrow until later and focus on the impending joy of birth in the now. The violet and rose candles are often mistaken for the Lenten colors purple and rose, and therefore mistake Advent for a time of mourning and penance. Violet, a shade of blue, represents hope and royalty. Rose, in both seasons, represents joy. And this, the rose-colored, third week of Advent’s reading from the Book of Zephaniah testifies to that joy we seek this winter season:
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has removed the judgment against you he has turned away your enemies; the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals. --3:14-18a
https://www.catholicireland.net/pope-francis-reflects-meaning-christian-joy/
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