Season of Joy

During this Advent season, I’d like to reflect on the towering characters and personalities of Advent. Today, we’re starting with King David, thought of as the perfect king.

Let’s continue our reflections on the towering figures of Advent. Today I want to speak about the great prophets, who spoke for the Lord.

Continuing our discussion of the radiant personalities of the Advent season, today I’d like to talk about Elizabeth and Zechariah, the parents of St. John the Baptist.

There are so many characters that light up this Advent season, including Saint Joseph. The Bible always mentions Jacob, Joseph, and Jesus to remind us that Jesus was of the lineage of King David.

In December 2020, Pope Francis declared a special Year of Saint Joseph. That’s good news because we need to give him more attention. He was a man of obedience who found out God’s will and did it.

Saints Joachim and Anne were the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Although we celebrate their feast day in July, it’s appropriate to think of them during this Advent season as the grandparents of Jesus.

Here’s a little seen image of Mary, our Glorious Mother, located “behind the scenes” at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. As I’ve said, there are really three annunciations in the Gospels: to Zechariah, to Joseph, and the greatest annunciation of all, to our Blessed Mother Mary – and her response, “Be it done unto me according to thy word.”