Rejoice! It is Gaudete Sunday! This is the day of the “almost, but not quite yet” Sunday before Christmas. It can be a time of anticipation of the celebrations to come. It is a time when we remind children, and some adults, to mind their manners even more than before. This is also a time when we are asked to reflect more deeply on how to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Savior in glory. Will he find us, as St. Paul says, “giving thanks in all circumstances?”
It may sound unreasonable to rejoice or give thanks given the situation of the world and the wars that are ravaging people and their countries. Families struggle with the myriad of issues involved in raising children or grandchildren. The demands of life are many and my hope is that people will find solace in knowing and experiencing the undeniable fact that, like the prophet Isaiah, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon us all!”
That same Spirit was given to us at baptism and sealed in us at Confirmation. It, the Spirit, doesn’t come to us in some diluted form but with the same grace and fire that we will continue to receive in our lives. The Spirit gives the ability to see the Light in the darkness and to rejoice that we are never alone.
Don’t forget, next Sunday morning is the Fourth Sunday in Advent and next Sunday evening is Christmas Eve.
Peace,
Fr. Michael