Reflections from the Heart – December 11, 2022

Third Sunday of Advent
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.”  A song perhaps is just a simple thing.  It does not need to be complicated. It is ever so repetitive and can be a simple melody, a simple rhythm, a simple tune. A hymn we can all follow and perhaps dance a line or two. However, in the depths of the lyrics, in the emotion of the words, in the art of rhythm and rhyme, a heartfelt story can be told.  An intimate experience can be shared. Sorrow and longing can be expressed. Joy can move us past our heartaches and pain.  A song can cause us to worship and praise. To dance and rejoice. To cry or be sad. To sing-a-long, hum-a-long, or simply be silent and still.  We sing with our hearts, with our souls, with our spirits, with our lips. Our silence can also sing as well as our smiles and our tears. We sing when we are happy.  We sing when we are sad.  We sing when we are joyful.  Some of us even sing when we are angry and mad.  It helps to sing especially in difficult moments and times.  When words escape us, a song says what needs to be said. The songwriter somehow knows. The words jump off the page and into our joy and sorrow.  The lyrics express what we cannot. The song expresses what we cannot describe or say.  The song speaks to us and the song speaks for us.  It speaks our language. It reads our hearts and expresses our mood, our emotion, our sentiment, our attitude. A song is such a simple but a powerful thing.  During Advent, we are invited to bring the song down a notch or two. To be simple in the instrumentation. To perhaps chant a hymn or two. To remain reflective, spiritual, prayerful, watchful. To sing quietly from within. To listen to the ancient hymn placed within us so long ago. A tiny whisper. An ancient call to repent, to return, to believe. A heartfelt song of mercy. A joyful hymn of thanksgiving and peace. It is a melodious tune sung by the heavenly choir of Angels and Saints. We join them at every Mass along with our family and friends who have gone before us in faith.  Together we rejoice and joyfully sing: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”