“The taste of true joy is a joy that touches our innermost being. It is heartfelt joy, the joy which leads us forth and gives us courage.” ~Pope Francis

Last Sunday we celebrated ‘Joyful Sunday’ and the third candle of the Advent wreath was lit. The third candle is pink and it is meant to stand out. In many churches at the weekend there was an emphasis put on celebrating good news.

On this day no apologies are made for highlighting our good news stories. It is crucial and important that we do. We have a natural tendency to lean towards negative and sad stories. 2022 has been a challenging year. Just when we were leaving the negativity of Covid behind us, along came the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices and a big increase in the prices of everything we buy. Many families are feeling the financial pressure of Christmas and lots of bills to pay. So it seems that good news is scarce around us.

But this should never stop us from putting the spotlight on good news. We all need to hear good news, we need to nurture good news and importantly we need to celebrate good news. We need to bring the balance back in. That is why ‘Joyful Sunday’ is one of those days that is so important. There are good news stories all around us but they often get squashed and pushed to one side. These good news stories do not have to make the headlines. It is often the small and insignificant good news stories that really are the best of all.

Christmas can be many different things to people including lots of spiritual significance. Christmas can rightly be called a ‘Celebration of Good News’ but especially a celebration of your good news. The message of ‘Joyful Sunday’ is that you are special and always worth celebrating. If we cannot do that, then there is no point having Christmas. Christmas celebrates you and celebrates the something special you bring to each day.