Gaudete! Rejoice!

December 17, 2017

Third Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 8

Reading 1	IS 61:1-2A, 10-11
Responsorial Psalm	LK 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54
Reading 2	1 THES 5:16-24
Gospel	JN 1:6-8, 19-28

Gaudete (English: /ˈɡaʊdeɪteɪ/; Ecclesiastical Latin: [gawˈdetɛ] "rejoice"

This Sunday is Gaudete Sunday. It comes from the beginning of the intro to Mass for that day that begins “Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete.” In English, we translate that to mean “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, rejoice.” That simple phrase is a powerful reminder of what we should be doing as Christians. Rejoicing. Being so filled with joy that it’s obvious that something is different about us, that something has happened. When we look back at the disciples after the Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord, and it’s obvious that something happened. After Pentecost these men who were scared to even go out into the world, scared that the same thing that happened to Jesus would happen to them, were marching boldly proclaiming their faith. All of them but one went to their graves as Martyrs still expounding the truth. Something happened.  

In the Responsorial Psalm, we see the response of Mary when Elizabeth is speaking to her during the Visitation.   The babe John had lept in the womb recognizing the Lord in the presence of Mary, His mother.   Elizabeth asked questions that we can all learn from still this day, “How is it that the mother of the Lord has come to me?”   Then Mary responds to everything that is going on.  Remember this is a young girl who is pregnant before marriage.   She is thirteen or fourteen years old.  Instead of giving into the fear that is so easily seen from her circumstances, she responds with the prayer we know today as the Magnificat.   A prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God for what He has done, and will continue to do for her for all generations.  Mary gave to us, and to God, a gift that had never been given.  Whereas Eve had eaten of the fruit and said “no” to God and His plan, Mary stood up and gave her Fiat, her unconditional yes to the plan even if it meant discomfort, pain, and heartbreak.   Mary lived her life showing that something happened.

That is something I myself have to work on.   The last few days have been difficult for me.  My pain levels have been high.   I have been seeing a lot of anger and hate from people on Facebook, including some difficult conversations that have left some hurt and distraught.  How do I handle this situation where my life becomes difficult?   Where it is hard to see God in the circumstances at hand?  The second reading is clear in that: “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”  It’s easy to give thanks for the good times.  To praise God with thanksgiving and joy when a friend is cured of an illness, or a loved one makes it through surgery.   When a child is born healthy and well.   How much more difficult when someone dies?   When a friendship ends?   When the money that you expected to be there is not, and the creditor has no sympathy for you?  That’s when faith is most important. A faith that shows that I too have experienced Him, that shows that something happened!

Like John crying out in the wilderness, you and I are tasked with the mission of proclaiming and pointing to the Light that was born into this world through the Incarnation of our Lord.  It’s not an easy task.   It’s not one that we ourselves can ever do on our own.   It’s a difficult and messy thing.  Conversations will be had that are on difficult topics.  Abortion, euthanasia, sex outside of marriage, chastity, and more.   Friendships can be tested in those moments.  What do we do with these conversations?   We listen.   We try to understand.  We offer hope.   Then we do as St. Paul instructed, “test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil.”  We examine everything offered to us and test all things based on Tradition, the Holy Scriptures, reason, and logic.   Then we move on and try to love.  

Love does not mean accepting and approving of sin.   Nor does it mean demeaning someone who has sinned as if they are inhuman or not worth anything.   It means judging actions and not souls.   Looking at the action of abortion without condemning the woman who made that mistake.    Journeying with the person carrying the cross of Same-Sex Attraction, while at the same time teaching about chastity, what Holy Matrimony is, and why it is one of the seven Sacraments.   Above all it means going to our knees before our Lord, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, and asking Him to lead us in our words, actions, and deeds.   St. Teresa of Calcutta said, “God does not require that we be successful only that we are faithful.”  That is a simple and profound truth that all of us must remember.  

So to all my friends and family, I wish you a wonderful Advent and a Merry Christmas.   To those who are struggling with a cross, I pray for your strength and discernment in how to carry it and how to draw close to the Lord.  Know that I accept you as you are, and love you for who you are, but love you too much to keep silent when I believe you are making a mistake.  I want you to be in Heaven with me, and oh how I hope and pray that I myself will be able to carry my crosses and deal with my sins so that God willing I shall be there at all.   I will close with the words of St. Paul as written to the Thessalonians, who says it in a more eloquent and beautiful way than my poor mind can formulate: “May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.”  This is my prayer for all of you this Advent Season.   Remember these simple words:  “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.”   So are you doing it? Are you living your life this Advent in preparation for Christ? Does the world look at you and wonder, "What happened?