This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent. This Sunday is known as “Gaudete (“rejoice ye”) Sunday.” This day is a day to be reminded that, in the midst of a penitential season, we are to rejoice that Christ will come again. The prophet Isaiah (61:1-2a, 10-11) tells us,
"The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all the nations."
In these difficult times with so much uncertainty, we can be certain of God’s love
and faithfulness. I pray that you and your loved ones will celebrate a safe, healthy
and spiritually fruitful Advent season.