Joyful yesses

Full of grace

Just under seven months ago, I stood in the quiet stillness of one of the most beautiful chapels my eyes had ever beheld, in the Basilica National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. The basilica is the largest Roman Catholic church in the U.S. and North America, and one of the ten largest churches worldwide. Approved by Pope Pius X in 1913 and continuously under construction ever since, the basilica has been visited by St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis, with 70+ sacred chapels honoring saints and apparitions (appearances) of Mary, Queen of Angels and the Mother of Jesus.

The chapel I had stepped into was dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint of Latin America.

The portrait of the young, mestiza Virgin, adorned in her royal cerulean garb of symbols and stars, radiated in the light. She was surrounded by images of the Spanish/indigenous community, including native Mexican peasant Juan Diego; all exalting her presence as the Mother of God. It was a beautiful place to pray, and I was rendered speechless.

We recently celebrated Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day, recognizing how the multiple apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Juan Diego in 1531 has been rooted in Mexican culture and history. Now, approaching closer and closer to Christmas, we think of Mary and her gentle courage, and the answer that changed everything.

Mary, as the mother of Jesus, said her full and complete yes, and it rocked the world. She had no idea that at 14 she would give birth to the Son of God, the savior of the world, and when the angel Gabriel appeared she didn’t stutter.

To be honest, reading Mary’s words from the Gospel of Luke has me cheering when it says, “But she was greatly troubled at what was said…,” and after the angel tells her what’s about to happen in her womb, without any other context, Mary goes, “How can this be…?” I read this and I’m like, YES. That’s something I would certainly say, given the unexpected circumstances. I would most definitely be “greatly troubled.” How is this even possible, if life currently be like _______?

But “nothing will be impossible for God,” the angel tells Mary. It didn’t matter if she didn’t have a boyfriend, or if her parents were expecting her to do/become this, or if she had to take care of that, etc. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you.”

And then Mary says one of the most beautiful, quoted lines in the entire Bible: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:26-38).

Without a single stutter or hesitation, Mary knows who she is. Spotless of sin, Mary willingly embraced the unforeseen path, chosen for her. She said her gentle, unwavering yes, and much later in her visions to Juan Diego and throughout the world’s history, she reminds us to do the same.

Finding joy

I almost cried during my breakfast of cereal and milk the other morning. Yes, seriously.

There was something so comforting about pouring the cereal into the bowl, followed by the milk (yes, always in that order). In this turbulent season of change and unknowns, especially at the turn of a new year, cereal and milk was probably one of the most familiar things I’ve experienced in a while. (And Honey Nut Cheerios.)

This season of Advent, we await the bright and joyful coming of the Lord, amidst the darkest of seasons. A lot of my old, familiar life has changed in the last couple of weeks: new job, new age, new gigs and opportunities and experiences to behold. And while it’s all been exciting, it’s also been a season of intense waiting, unknowns, and having to rely completely on faith while navigating through the dark. I’m always afraid I’ll misstep.

I think about Mary and her first unwavering yes, when she had no idea what was about to happen. I think about how she too navigated through the dark, fleeing as a refugee when her only son – who also happens to be the Son of God, no biggie – had a huge bounty on his head. I think about Mary’s extremely strong, unwavering faith much later in life, when she had to watch him being nailed to a cross.

Oftentimes in life, we are placed in many situations in which our first response is, “But, how can this be…?” Even Mary the Mother of God had her questions, yet she remained ever joyful and full of grace.

We hear a lot about joy, especially during Advent – jolly, joyful Christmas music everywhere. But what I tend to forget is that having true joy isn’t the same thing as obtaining happiness; it isn’t based on how good we feel in the moment, surrounded by cookies and friends and extravagant holiday parties and Pentatonix’s album on loop.

“Happiness is dependent on circumstances. Joy can be found even in the darkest of places.”

I heard this quote at a charismatic convention I attended in the fall. It’s taken me a while to truly grasp what it meant, but I think that, amidst this Advent season of blinding darkness and hopeful unknowns, I’m beginning to understand.

Joy is about having a resilient trust, and can only be understood with pain. You cannot understand, feel, or experience joy, without first understanding, feeling, and experiencing pain. It’s when we recognize God amidst our painful circumstances that we experience true joy.

It isn’t glamorous to hear, and it’s not as simple as the handmaid Mary’s unwavering yes was, without hesitation. No matter how perfect we can create our lives [to seem] on Instagram, the happiness will not last. It’s like Sadness and Joy going hand-in-hand in the Disney-Pixar movie, Inside Out. One cannot exist without the other. We will inevitably experience pain and bouts of darkness, but with it comes the light of joy. We can offer up our daily sufferings (sitting in traffic, rushing to make a deadline, being chided or late to work) for the work of our own personal transformation… and then, we can find joy in the smallest of things (sunflowers, coffee, quality time spent with loved ones, bowls of cereal).

With our experiences of sadness, we can better understand what it’s like to be happy – and to go beyond that, to appreciate true, everlasting joy.

Wishing you a joyful season!