This third Sunday of Advent has been a day for rejoicing because Jesus is closer than we think. St. Paul urges the citizens of Philippi to Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice (4:4). He offers as a reason that the Lord is near.

The Angel says to Mary, Hail full of grace, the Lord is with you, (Lk. 1:28), and to the shepherds, Be not afraid; for I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day a Savior (Lk. 2:10-11).

Let us rejoice because the Lord is near to us. He is very near to us. In fact, He is never far. At times we look and cannot see or hear Him. We pray and He doesn't listen. He doesn't answer our prayers.

But in reality, He is never distant. He does answer our prayers. We forget that "No," can be an answer. When God seems distant, it more often is that we have gotten into a time of sin and selfishness. We might be seeking a path of happiness apart from God and His love.

Happiness in this world is an illusive thing. We "feel" happy for awhile. When we are feeling this happiness we guard ourselves with earthly wisdom like, "All good things must come to an end." And on earthly terms, we are correct. This life is not permanent. The very transitory nature of our world cannot be a final solution for happiness. That's why so many people go from this to that in search of peace and happiness. There is no lack of trends for one to take up.

On the other hand, the Christian's happiness is quite profound and lasting. A Christian can be happy in the midst of illness, pain, failures, and contradictions. For a Christian, happiness is not merely a feeling. It is more a state of living. Jesus tells us, Your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you (Jn. 16:22). The only one who has the power to take this joy is myself if I separate from God.

I am not saying that we will not have difficulties. Of course we will. "How many obstacles vanish, when in our hearts we place ourselves next to this God of ours, who never abandons us! Jesus' love for his own, for the sick and the lame is renewed, expressed by different sufferers in different ways," (Escriv?, Friends of God, 249). Each of us who has suffered is invited to look at Him who suffered more than any of us and finds His consolation and peace.

We must not allow our happiness to depend on outside circumstances, for they will constantly change. Rather, we base our happiness on He who will change from day to day, but always be near us and even in us.

We can experience this closeness when we make visits to Him in the Eucharist. We can come at any time and have a conversation with our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lover, our Bridegroom, our God. We can lay our soul bare in the confessional. We can get closer to our Lady. She knew great contradictions and pain in her life. But none of these kept her from her God or losing her joy. She was always close to God because she did not allow her heart to become bitter or angry. Let us follow her example and keep our joy alive and vibrant.