The Only Real Fix For Our Lifelong Craving

Sixth Day of the Christmas Octave 2023

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.” St. John, writing in his old age to the communities of Asia Minor he feels responsible for, is trying to help younger Christians, and their leaders, to focus on the true end of life, the true goal of anyone trying to be like Christ. Love for the world–sense pleasure, honors or power over others–is a sure path to corruption, unhappiness and death. There is only one fix for the desire we all have for perfect happiness. We are looking for true wealth, true relationship, true joy, and will only find that combination when we are fully united with the Blessed Trinity, that is, totally enfolded with all other believers, in Love.

The psalmist “gets” it. There are four lines in psalm 96 that we prayed today. What do they all have in common? They are prayers to, or about, the LORD. First, ascribe to the LORD all power and strength. He is the all-powerful One to whom we pray for help. Second, ascribe to the LORD glory, and bring Him the offering He wants. What is that? Ourselves, our free wills to be attuned to His own Will. Third, worship the LORD in “holy attire.” That’s not just our Sunday-go-to-meeting suit or dress. We are also challenged to accept His grace and let that spruce up our spiritual, our innermost, appearance. And, finally, evangelization. We are to spread the word to the goyim–the nations, the Gentiles–the realities that come from faith. God is our ruler, whom we are called to obey. God is the creator of the universe; everything comes from Him. God is the judge of living and dead. And He will judge equitably, giving to each of us our due when our earthly life is done.

So this is a prayer useful for every age, but especially for older folks like me. We, I hope, have all stopped saying “if I die” and realize that the conditional is not “if” but “when I die.” What will we take to the judgement seat of Christ? Anna bar Phanuel of the tribe of Asher was in her ninth decade of life. She had long since stopped saying “if.” She had been in the Temple night and day, praying and fasting, looking for the Messiah. She had seen a whole mess of Messiahs in her day. None of them fit the bill. But when Jesus and His parents came to the Temple, on that day of presentation, here she comes again, and she recognizes the One she had been awaiting all her life. She spread the news to everyone like herself who were awaiting the boy who would grow up to be the Redeemer of Israel. He is the One we worship, the One we celebrate not just during the Christmas Octave, but every day of our own life, with prayer and fasting and praise. Let’s turn this new day over to Him so that we can do the Father’s will, just like Jesus, Mary, Joseph and this old lady named Anna.