Rejoice!
Advent's third Sunday
Dear Friends,
This weekend we celebrate Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is a Latin word that means rejoice, and we find it in the entrance antiphon for Sunday's Mass:
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near."
More on that in a bit. But for now, I want to encourage you to join us today for Lessons and Carols. The Advent singing and scripture service begins at 3:00pm in the church.
These past few years, our Lessons and Carols service has been the highlight of my Advent experience. If you are able to come, please make an effort to be here. You won't regret it!
The Gaudete refrain I mentioned above tells us to rejoice because the Lord is near. The longer version of the same antiphon gives us a fuller sense of what this looks like:
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near. Have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. Lord, you have blessed your land; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob."
Here, we see that our rejoicing is a matter of trust. In prayer we entrust ourselves - our hearts and our lives - to God; we thank him for his goodness to us; and we ask him to meet our need - knowing that he has, he does, and he will.
More trust in God yields the fruit of repentance I preached about last Sunday. More trust in God means more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity, faithfulness, and self control for us.
So, trust - and rejoice!
My reflection in this weekend's bulletin ties in quite nicely to this theme. Let me know whether or not you see the connections.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
PS The Mass parts we are using for the Advent and Christmas Seasons are linked below:
Kyrie
Gloria (Christmas only)
Sanctus
Agnus Dei
Preparing for Mass?
Check out this weekend's readings:
Third Sunday of Advent
