My dear friends, greetings to all of you – Today is a day to rejoice.
On this Third Sunday of Advent, we celebrate what we call GAUDETE SUNDAY. Gaudete is a Latin word derived from the word GAUDERE, meaning “to rejoice, to feel joy, or to be glad.” In the entrance antiphon for Sunday’s Mass we read, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice. Indeed the Lord is near.”
Our Advent prophet Isaiah speaks of a tremendous gift which he has been sent to proclaim to the Israelite people who were living in exile, but soon to be ransomed by the Lord. When this happens, these people will experience great joy because God would come and once again be in their midst. His presence would be an experience of great joy that would transform their lives, and a joy that could never be taken away.
This same JOY has been offered to us. Do we live this joy each day? Are we people rooted in this experience of joy?
Isaiah’s promise of joy was fulfilled in part with the incarnation of Jesus – God coming among us as man. The ultimate and climatic rejoicing at Jesus’ second and final appearance is yet to come. This is at the heart of this season of Advent.
We proclaim a Christ who has come; we proclaim a Christ who will come again; but we also proclaim a Christ who continues to manifest his works today, works which we may not always see, but works which we trust in through the faith and hope in our lives.
This season of Advent is about living in the joy already given, and preparing for the deeper joy yet to come in our own lives, as we wait in joyful expectation.
I know that people experience lots of joy and happiness preparing for Christmas. But this is a passing joy, one that is not sustaining. The true joy that comes from the experience of God’s presence cannot be simulated or created by any other source or thing.
In our society, money, comfort, and material security for most people are not lacking; and yet boredom, depression and sadness are so much a part of many peoples’ lives. Someone once said, “A GLOOMY SOUL IS AT THE MERCY OF MANY TEMPTATIONS.” Our society provides many opportunities for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in generating joy. For joy comes from another source. True joy is spiritual.
At the very heart of Christian joy is the deep and profound love of God for us. It is a joy deeply rooted in an intimate relationship with Jesus and sustained by his Holy Spirit. Christian Joy will be present in good times and in bad; it is compatible with pain and suffering, with failures and contradictions. One many wonder how these can fit together. They can… and they do… because it was what Jesus experienced.
Jesus, knowing of his ensuing suffering and death, said to his disciples, “The Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” Where did his joy come from? The profound love of the Father!
People who have encountered Jesus personally in their lives, experience in their hearts a peacefulness and a joy that nothing and no one can deprive them of. In the words of Pope Francis, “Our joy is Jesus, his faithful love is inexhaustible!”
Yes, friends, our joy is Jesus! Our joy is Jesus! And where there is great spiritual joy, there is the presence of the Holy Spirit. “The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
When people look for joy and happiness in the wrong places, they will be led down a road away from Jesus – and as St. Paul says, “they will extinguish the Holy Spirit.”
And so this season of Advent invites us to prepare for a deeper encounter with Jesus at Christmas. We mustn’t rush to Christmas without first living the season of Advent. In doing so we will miss out on the JOY that the Lord has prepared for us.
My dear friends, Jesus IS our joy. With the time remaining in Advent, ask Jesus to deepen his joy in you. He wants nothing more than to give this to you.
Take the time to prepare your hearts and minds, letting God remove any sadness that hinders you from feeling the joy and hope which is yours in Christ Jesus.
May the peace and joy of Christ be with you all.