We were sitting in the living room one evening when Lucy, the 12-year old dachshund climbed up into my lap. She flipped over onto her back and began pushing her head up and into the space between my head and my chest, while wagging her tail furiously. It was very sweet. “Good girl,” I said, and her tail wagging hastened in appreciation.
I looked at my husband and said, “We have a hugging dog.”
“Yes,” he replied.
I sat there thinking about it and realized that the standard poodle hugs too. He greets me each time that I walk through the door by pushing his head into my thigh, while following me through the house. As I pondered these lovely creatures and their ability to express love I started to think—hugging another person is an action that involves squeezing them. Isn’t that strange?
My husband who has been a horse vet for over 35 years was sitting in his recliner reading a book. I didn’t really think he was listening to me muse about our dogs but when I uttered, “Wonder why we like being squeezed?”
He muttered, without taking his eyes off of his book, “It mimics the feeling of contractions during birth.”
Wow! I was dumbstruck. A hug reminds us on some deep level, beyond the grasp of our awareness, that being squeezed brings us to new birth. How beautiful is that?
This week we celebrate Gaudete Sunday. It is a time where we celebrate joy during a season of darkness. It is like a rest between contractions. A time to gather strength to make the final push towards a life in Christ.
During this week of celebration let’s look to the examples that the Church offers us during this season:
Our Lady of Guadalupe reminds us to look for God in the most unlikely places. We are reminded that it takes the faith of a child to learn to trust and to make the big changes we need to make.
Let’s also look to St. Joseph, who Pope Francis decided to honor in 2021. There is so much that we can learn about him during his 150th year of being declared a saint. I love his courage and faith in following the will of God no matter what his circumstances were. Claudia Maxson at Becky Eldredge’s ‘Into the Deep’ blog wrote a beautiful reflection here about how he pushed past his comfort zone by staying by Mary’s side even though she was pregnant before they were married.
No matter what is going on at home, know that when we can’t yet see the light, we have these examples who stood in the darkness of uncertainty and with radical trust said, “Yes” to whatever was being asked of them. Isn’t that a beautiful reason to celebrate?
Let’s celebrate together this week by looking for ways to look for God’s will in your life. One of the things that I do is notice. If I notice something trivial or small, like a household item that needs putting away, instead of thinking that I will do it later, I put it away right then. This little action feels like I am listening to God. When I notice, maybe he is pointing it out for me to see. I’ve been doing that one thing all during Advent and I am learning that these small mortifications lead me to the deeper works such as praying for someone that I ordinarily wouldn’t think to pray for.
This week, I’ve linked the daily readings to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (UCCB’s) website so that you can click on the passage and it will take you there. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that earlier! Live and learn…
No matter what is going on, I am praying for you all to seek out joy this week.
This week’s Readings:
Sunday December 13
Monday December 14
Tuesday December 15
Psalm 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19,23
Wednesday December 16
Thursday December 17
Matthew 1:1-17
Friday December 18
Saturday December 19