Today, we remember and pray to St. Peter Canisius, priest and doctor of the Church. He lived in the 1500s and, as a Jesuit, worked in South Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Switzerland during the Counter-Reformation. He was a tireless and influential preacher and teacher for adults and children.
One of his famous sayings was, “If you have too much to do, with God’s help, you will find the time to do it.” That’s good spiritual advice at any time, but especially with only a few days left till Christmas Eve!
If you were to look at the readings for today, you’d see that we have two options. We’ve just heard one from the Song of Songs and the other from Zephaniah. If you’d asked me which one I would preach on over the past eighteen years, it would have been Zephaniah. But for some reason, this year, I overcame my disinclination toward the poetic style of the Song of Songs and was drawn to the hopefulness in this reading.
Every year in New England and other parts of the world, we reach this point of the year deprived of the total sunlight we crave and almost all plant life. The announcement in this reading that “…winter is past, the rains are over…and flowers appear…” captivates our imagination and longing. It’s why people start to feel hopeful as the hours of darkness diminish beginning tomorrow and why people travel to warmer climates to feel more alive.
The beginning of reading is meant to help us connect our human love for another with God’s love for us. To see God as the One who lovingly calls us to a life of beauty and fruitfulness. It is the Word of God using a poetic invitation from God, which is meant to stir our souls from trials and, at times, the drudgery of our winter weather and the challenges in our lives.
It is precisely on this day that we hear God’s message in the Song of Songs that Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaims to Mary, “Most Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” And, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
My brothers and sisters, we can all get a bit weary around now. Still, God’s message is one of hope and a loving invitation to trust in His care for us—to believe that by following Him, we will not only find help, healing, and protection…but also a life that leads to joy and fruitfulness. Even when all around us may look very different.
At all times, God brings us hope, sometimes where we’d least expect to find it. Stay with God, and you’ll always have hope.
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