My best friend and I were put in charge of our Catholic grade school’s stationery “closet” in the latter-half of seventh grade, a pretty big deal when one is 12 years old. After all, as the organizer, you had the power of deciding which color pencil case and folder other students received (the uglier the color, the less you liked them), and you had full access to the special red pens and multi-colored chalk that only the teachers could use. However, with this great privilege also came a heavy burden, for it often meant missing outdoor lunch recess if the closet wasn’t organized to Sister Marie Julia’s liking. Frequently rushing our chores in order to get outside, we’d be sternly cautioned by Sister: “Haste makes waste, gentlemen.”
I think of this expression each time I hear Luke’s Gospel account of Mary travelling to the hill country in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth. “Haste makes waste, Mary,” I can hear Sister Julia telling the Mother of our Savior.
And yet maybe that is exactly the point Luke is trying to make: how could our Lady NOT run in haste with the Love of God she carried within her? How could she NOT spill forth – perhaps even recklessly – the Mercy for which the world hungered? That, in essence, is the beauty of Christmas: God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to save us and swaddle us in the abundant peace which only He can truly give.
We come together as a parish family this week to celebrate both the Fourth Sunday of Advent and the beginning of the Christmas season. Like Mary running to the hill country, may we make haste in sharing the compassion and mercy of God with our family, neighbors and even the Scrooges who may cross our paths in the days ahead. Our Blessed Mother couldn’t wait to share the Good News of God’s incredible Love with others. May the same be said of our Immaculate Conception/St. Jude family.
On behalf of the priests, deacons and parish team, we wish you and yours a blessed Christmas. Thank you, as always, for your presence with us