New Years 2012

The Waterford Crystal ball atop Times Square on New Year’s Day

New Years 2012

January 1, 2012, The Octave Day of Christmas
Numbers 6: 22-27  Galatians 4: 4-7 
 Luke 2: 16-21

 First reading from Numbers

The Lord commanded Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to use the following words in blessing the people of Israel:

May the Lord bless you and take care of you!

May the Lord be kind and gracious to you!

May the Lord look on you with favor, and give you peace!

When they speak these words over the people of Israel, I will bless them.

The word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

Alleluia, alleluia

A reading from the holy Gospel accord to Luke

Glory to you, Lord.

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. The shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were amazed. And Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and often pondered about them. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

On the  eighth day, when it was time to circumcise Him He was named Jesus. That was the name given Him by the angel, before He was conceived.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction

A holyday in search of a feast

In the church calendar the 1^st of January is called the Octave Day of Christmas - the eighth day since the Lord was born on December 25.  On the eighth day after a Jewish male was born, he was circumcised. Today’s very short gospel concludes, “When eight days were completed for his circumcision, the child was named Jesus.” (Lk 2:21) 

In the old Latin missal, the 1^st of January was entitled In Circumcisione Domini - Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord. After Vatican II, the feast is simply called the Octave Day of Christmas, and is subtitled The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Then added to the mix, there is now a directive which says the 1^st of January may also be celebrated as a World Peace Day.

Octave Day of Christmas - Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord - Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God - World Peace Day! My gosh! You get the impression that liturgically we’re not quite sure what we’re celebrating on 1^st of January. It seems to be a holyday in search of a feast to celebrate. The world over, however, is very uncomplicated about the 1^st of January. It simply calls it New Year’s Day – a day to celebrate an important new beginning.

An emotional moment

Every year as the clock nears midnight on December 31^st the eyes of the whole world turn to the dazzling lights and bustling energy of Times Square in New York City. There anticipation runs high. The whole world holds its breath, and then a roar of cheers breaks out, as the clock strikes twelve, and the famous New Year’s Eve super ball (made of Waterford crystal) descends from the flagpole atop Times Square. The descending  ball is watched by one million people in Times Square below, by millions nationwide, and by over a billion throughout the world. All are united in bidding a collective farewell (and perhaps a good riddance) to the departing old year, and all are united in expressing their joy and hope for the new year.

New Year’s Eve is an emotional moment for many. At midnight some people cry in their beer because of some misfortune, setback, tragedy or death that has befallen them in 2011. Others at midnight blow horns and sing Auld Lang Syne, as they bid goodbye to the old year and welcome the new one with a sense of renewed strength and hope.

An interview with God on New Year’s Day

A piece (that has been flying around in the wide-open spaces of the internet) is titled An Interview with God. With a few changes and additions the piece can be turned into An Interview with God on New Year’s Day. Revised a bit, it goes like this:

I dreamed I asked God for an interview, and God granted it. “Oh, so you would like to interview me?”He asked. Though I knew better, I replied, “If you have the time.” God smiled and said, “My time is eternity.” Then God asked me, “What do you have in mind?” I asked God, “Tell me, what surprises you the most about us, your children?” And God paused a moment and then answered:  

“This is what surprises me: you kids get so bored with childhood: you can’t wait to grow up, and then you wish you were kids again.

This is what surprises me:  you lose your health working hard all year long to make a lot of money so you can buy a lot of things, and then you lose your money trying to repair your health.

This is what surprises me: you are so preoccupied with painful regrets about the past, or are so consumed with gnawing anxieties about the future that you never really live in the present moment, which is all there really is.

This is what surprises me (especially at this time of the rolling year): you are busy running here, there and everywhere, except to the stable where you will find motivation and strength for facing the new year.

This is what surprises me: you live as though you’re never going to die, and then die as though you never lived.”

Lessons to learn for 2012

Silently God took my hands into his, and we were both silent for a moment. Then I asked God, “What are some of the lessons you want your children to learn in order to weather the storms of 2012?” And God answered:

“To learn that you can’t make anyone love you; all you can do is let yourselves be loved.

To learn that it takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in people you love, and it can take many years to heal them.

To learn forgiveness by practicing it.

To learn also that it is not enough that you forgive others; you must also forgive yourselves.

To learn that you are, indeed, rich people, not when you have the most or the latest or the best, but when you have the wonderful freedom to need the least. ”

The New Year’s Interview with God concludes:

I was deeply grateful for the interview, and I thanked God for his time. Then I asked, “Is there anything else you would like me to tell your children, especially as we stand on the threshold of a brand new year?” God smiled and said: “Just tell them I am here always. Just tell them not to be afraid, and that I go before them into 2012.”

Conclusion

Francis’ special blessing on Brother Leo

There is a treasured parchment and precious relic  which is preserved in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. Brother Leo was passing through a crisis, and Francis helped him in that difficult moment by writing for Leo the Laudes Dei Altissimi (The Praises of the Most High God), and by giving Leo a special blessing modeled upon the blessing of Aaron in Numbers 6:24-26. Brother Leo himself wrote a rubric on that treasured parchment which says, "Blessed Francis wrote this blessing with his own hands, and gave it to me, Brother Leo." This is what Francis wrote (or quoted from Numbers) for troubled Brother Leo, and which the Church quotes for us on this first day of the new year:

May the Lord bless you [Brother Leo] and take care of you!

May the Lord be kind and gracious to you!

May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace [in 2012]!

Christmas People Giving Flesh to the Word of God

“And the Word became flesh” Jn 1:14

Christmas People Giving Flesh to the Word of God

December 25, 2011 – the third Mass of Christmas Day

Isaiah 52:7-10       Hebrews 1:1-6    John 1:1-5, 9-14

2^nd reading from Hebrews

Brothers and sisters: In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets.  In these last days He has spoken to us through his Son whom He has made heir of all things and through whom He first created the universe. This Son is the reflection of God’s glory. He is the exact likeness of the Father’s being. He sustains all things by his powerful word. When He had cleansed us from our sins, He took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. The Son was made greater than all the angels, just as the name which God gave Him is greater than theirs. For God never said to any of his angels, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” (Ps 2:7) Or again, “I will be his Father, and He shall be my Son.” (2 Sam 7:14) And again, when He leads his firstborn into the world He says, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”(Heb. 1-6)

The word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Glory to you, Lord.

The Prologue of St. John

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept Him. But to those who did accept Him He gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction

The 3 Masses of Christmas

Christmas is the only day of the year which has three different Masses assigned it: Mass at midnight, at dawn and during the day. The gospel for the Mass during the day is the prologue from the gospel of St. John. The traditional symbol for John the evangelist is that of an Eagle, because he soars as an eagle, as he proclaims that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh.” (Jn 1:1, 14)

Verbalism….

Because the Word of God has become flesh, the Word is now no longer a word (or a flow of words). In the Incarnation the Word has now become flesh and blood. The Word of God has now been fleshed out as an “infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” (Lk 2: 12) The soaring Eagle’s profound prologue lays an axe to verbalism. Verbalism is many things. For one thing, it’s the tendency especially of preachers to speak with a flow of fleshless words which carry no tasty meaning for God’s hungry people sitting in the Sunday pews. Verbalism is also a tendency, especially again on the part of preachers, to put too much stock in words. It’s making people live and die by words, as the Inquisitors did when they burned St. Joan d’Arc at the stake for not having the right words to their tricky theological questions.

Verbalism is also the doctrinaire approach to the complex issues of human life, such as human sexuality, celibacy, ordination, homosexuality, capital punishment, etc. Verbalism assumes that the solutions to these complex issues of human life lay solely in the words of our mouths, instead of also in something down deep in our hearts. Verbalism as a doctrinaire approach also assumes that preaching the gospel means speaking words; Mother Teresa of Calcutta preached the gospel all her life, and really never spoke a word!

Less remarkable but still annoying to many, verbalism is filling Sunday liturgy with a steady flow of words -- with three scripture readings, a responsorial psalm, a Gloria, a Credo, an Agnus Dei, an Our Father, and then announcements at the end of Mass. The flow of words might satisfy our need to always be doing something, but it drowns out our inner need for Quaker silence in which the voice of God can be heard.

 The Word became flesh in Fr. Mychal Judge

Franciscan Fr. Mychal Judge, (b. 1933-d. 9:11, 2001) was a compassionate champion of the needy and forgotten of New York City, and a beloved chaplain of the N.Y. City Fire Department. The story of his selfless life and heroic death in the line of duty as chaplain of the fire department was one of the first to come out of the apocalyptic attack on the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan on 9:11, 2001. 

 On Christmas Eve, Fr. Judge would walk up Ninth Avenue, in his brown habit and sandaled feet, carrying a baby doll wrapped in a towel, to a shelter for abused and homeless women. There he would place the doll on a table which served as the altar for Mass, and would ask the women: “Where do you think baby Jesus would want to be tonight?” Then he’d answer his own question: “Right here with you, celebrating his birthday.”

The Word of God says, "I was a stranger, and you took me into your home." (Mt. 25:35) It also says that "Tax collectors and prostitutes are preceding the chief priests and Jewish elders into the Kingdom of God." (Mt. 21:31) Again, the Word of God says, "There is no greater love then this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." (JN 15:13) That Word became flesh in Fr. Mychal Judge. 

The Word became flesh in CEO Aaron Feuerstein

Aaron Feuerstein was CEO and owner of Malden Mills, a fabric factory in Methuen, Massachusetts. He was also a devout Jew who read Shakespeare and the Talmud (a rich treasury of rabbinical tradition ). On the night of Dec. 11, 1995 (six days before the beginning of Hanukah that year) a surprise party was held for Aaron’s seventieth birthday. During the party a boiler exploded and a devastating fire broke out which demolished a good part of his factory.

Feuerstein didn’t grab the insurance money and run, as a sharp man of business would do. Instead, the morning after the fire he assured all his 2400 employees that with God's help they would all get through that tragedy together. Then he gave them their pay-checks plus a $275 Christmas bonus and a $20 food coupon. Three days later on the night of Dec. 14, in the gym of the Catholic High School where 1000 of his employees gathered to learn their fate, he made a startling announcement:

For the next 30 days, and it might be more, all our employees will be paid their full salaries. I think you already have been advised that your health insurance has been paid for the next 90 days. But over and above the money, the most important thing Malden Mills can do for our workers is to get you all back to work.  By January 2, 1996, we will restart operations, and within 90 days, God willing, we will be 100 percent operational.

There was a moment of stunned disbelief, and then the workers rose to their feet cheering and hugging each other and also weeping. CEO Feuerstein is the bright shining star in the darkness of corporate greed! Time magazine for January 8, 1996, reported that he was true to his word; he continued to pay his employees in full, at a cost of one and a half million dollars a week and at an average wage of twelve and a half dollars an hour. Later that same year, corporate America, stunned by such fiscal insanity and half-hearted capitalism, named him CEO of the Year!

The Word of God (which Feuerstein quated to explain his 'fiscan insanity' tells us, "Oh man, this is what the Lord God wants from you: that you should act justly, with loving-kindness, and walk humbly with thy God." (Micah:6-8) That Word of God became flesh in Aaron Feuertein.

The Word became flesh in Fr. Zawada

Fr. Jerry Zawada, like Fr. Mychal Judge, is a Franciscan friar. He is a member of the Assumption of BVM Province, Franklin, Wisconsin. He is now facing expulsion from his Order and excommunication from the Church, because on November 19, 2011, he joined with Rev. Janice Sevre-Duszynska (an ordained woman-priest) in celebrating Mass in Columbus, Georgia. Many were gathered there for the annual meeting sponsored by School of Americas Watch (SOAW)—an organization founded by Maryknoll  Fr. Roy Bourgeois and a small group of supporters. Its purpose is to watch over a military academy called the School of Americas (SOA). The academy is a creation of the United States Department of Defense and is located at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia. The SOA has a reputation for training Latin American dictators and their militaries in various techniques to squash dissidence in their countries. Every November the SOAW holds a vigil at Fort Benning to protest the murder, rape and torture committed by some graduates of the academy or under their leadership. (Fr. Zawada has served time in a federal prison for previous actions with the SOAW.)

Zawada told friends that he openly joined Rev. Janice Sevre-Duszynska in celebrating Mass as a matter of conscience for him. Within days Church authorities in Rome heard about the liturgy, and Fr. Zawada was told by his American superiors that he now faces excommunication and expulsion from the Order, for joining in a liturgy with a woman priest. Father Jerry has been a member of the Franciscan Order for 56 years and a priest for 47 years! When asked what he thinks his friends should do about his situation, he says he does not feel comfortable telling people what to do. Instead, he encourages everyone to follow his own conscience, and to keep him in their thoughts and prayers, as he faces the future.

The Word of God says, "When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. For the words you speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking in you." (Mt. 10:19-20) That Word has become flesh in Fr. Zawada.

Conclusion

 Great Christmas people

Christmas isn’t the time for Christians to be preaching truth. That simply tends to put the followers of the Prince of Peace at odds with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and anyone else who has a religious truth other than the Christian truth. Christmas isn’t even the time to be preaching morality. That tends to fill us with Pharisaic self-righteousness which gives thanks to God for not being sinners like the rest of men.
Christmas is the time to do what Christmas does best: tell stories -- wonderful stories about people like Fr. Mychal Judge, Jewish CEO Aaron Feuerstein and Fr. Jerry Zawada. They were not great preachers of truth or morality. They were first and foremost great Christmas people, as in their persons they gave flesh to the Word of God. And they inspire us to do the same.

"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you"

The Annunciation by Michelangelo Caravaggio, 1608

“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

 Lk 1:28

“Conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,

and born of the Virgin Mary”

Creed at Mass

December 18, 2011, 4^th Sunday of Advent

II Samuel 7:1-5   Romans 16:25-27   Luke 1:26-38

Alleluia, alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Glory to you, Lord.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth, with a message for a girl promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. The girl’s name was Mary. The angel approached her and said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled by the angel’s, message, and she wondered what his words meant. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father, and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end!”

 But Mary said to the angel, “I am a virgin. How, then, can this be?”The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. Furthermore, six months ago your Aunt Elizabeth (called `the barren one’) became pregnant in her old age. For nothing is impossible with God.” Mary answered, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” And then the angel disappeared.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction

The season to light candles

Today December 18, 2011, is the fourth and last Sunday of Advent. Today, the Christian community lights the fourth candle on the Advent wreath.  Wednesday December 21 is the first day of Hanukkah, when the Jewish community lights the first of the eight candles of the menorah candelabra. Then Thursday December 22 will be the first day of winter. The Old Farmers' Almanac shows the period between December 17 and 25 as the darkest of the year. Those days have fifteen long hours of darkness and only nine short hours of light. No wonder this is the season to light candles

Late Advent’s specialty: telling stories

The second part of Advent (called Late Advent or the Novena of Christmas) began yesterday, December 17. The scripture readings for Late Advent specialize in what Christmas does best: they tell stories. They tell the story of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would conceive of the Holy Spirit. (Lk 1:26-38) They tell the story of Mary hurrying over hill country to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who needs help in her pregnancy. (Lk 1:39-45) They tell the story of Mary and Joseph not finding any room in an inn, and their seeking refuge in a stable where Mary gives birth to Jesus. (Lk 2:1-7) They tell the story of an angel announcing tidings of great joy to shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night, and their finding an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. (Lk 2:8-20) 

`Virginal conception’ doesn’t fly well

At Mass on this fourth and last Sunday of Advent (Cycle B), Dec. 18, 2011, we tell the story of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary her virginal conception of Jesus. The angel tells Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and the power of the Most High will overshadow her, and the child born of her will be called the Son of God. (Lk 1:35) Then at Mass on Dec. 24 (the Vigil of Christmas), we tell the story of an angel announcing Mary’s pregnancy to Joseph, and that takes him totally by surprise. (M 1:18-20)

The story of Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus doesn’t fly well in our culture, where breasts are bared and bursting, and where torsos are twisting and turning, on TV all day long. Such a culture dismisses the virginal conception of Jesus as not very serious, or as quite incomprehensible, or even as offensive to human nature.

That being so, how in the world can we tell our young ones (without tongue-in-cheek) the Christmas story of Mary virginally conceiving Jesus? How is it possible to tell them the story in such a way as not to sound incomprehensible or offensive? Not only that, but also and especially, how is it possible to tell the story of Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus to this generation (and also to ourselves) in such a way as to suffuse it with religious meaning? That’s a task that is long overdue. 

A positive statement about Jesus

As Catholics for centuries recited the Creed at Mass, which proclaims that Jesus was “conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary,” down deep in their heart of hearts, they always felt that that was a kind of negative statement about sex. It is not, and it cannot be, a negative statement about sex. It does not say, and it cannot say, that when the Son of God came into the world, it was below His dignity to be conceived in the very same way that all other babies are conceived. That would be an affront to every mother and father who bring a child into the world! Sex is not dirty! When He comes into the world Jesus doesn’t need to be protected from being `naturally conceived’. The story of the virginal conception of Jesus is not a negative statement about sex. Rather it is a positive statement about Jesus; the story wants to say that Jesus is much more than the gift of Joseph and Mary to us. He is, especially and above all, the gift of the heavenly Father to us.

A positive statement about woman

The story of the virginal conception is also a positive statement about woman. When the Novena of Christmas began yesterday December 17, the gospel opened with that long male-ridden genealogy from Matthew:

This is the family record of Jesus Chr4ist who was a descendent of David, who was a descendant of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  And Judah begot Perez and Zerah.

The genealogy then continues through an endless  litany of 42 generations of men begetting sons! (It’s so endless and boring that the celebrant at Mass is permitted to cut it short.)Who in the world ever heard of `men begetting babies!’ That male-ridden genealogy finally comes to a screeching halt with these words:

And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, and it was of her [not of Joseph] that Jesus who is called the Christ was born. (Mt 1:1-16)

 With one powerful stroke the story of Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus puts an ax to the quiet lie that lines up only men behind the great moments of history. Behind an event which divides time into B.C. and A.D., there stands no man at all--only a woman. Upon the most momentous page of history a woman (and not a man) puts her signature. That’s not a feminist statement; it’s a Christmas statement.

A positive statement about man

The story of Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus is also a positive statement about Joseph; he steps aside and resigns his sexual prowess. He does so in order to let the message shine through that Jesus is not just his gift to us; He is above all the gift of the Father in heaven. Stepping aside is a big order for men who do not resign power and position easily, and who like to be on center-stage. Mary, not Joseph is center-staged in the Christmas drama. At the end of the day, men’s yen for center stage is the real but unspoken reason why women never get ordained in the Catholic Church (except by an act of disobedience). Joseph is a model for a male-ridden society and Church.

Conclusion

Born of the virgin Mary

We can defend with all our might the story of Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus, as a miracle, but if we haven’t also discovered its religious meaning, we haven’t defended much at all. At the end of the day, the story says that Jesus is more than Joseph and Mary’s gift to us; He is especially and above all the heavenly Father’s gift. The story of Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus also puts an end to all male-ridden genealogies, and calls attention to women’s place in human history. Finally, the story paints Joseph as an exceptional man, doing what men don’t like to do – stepping aside and giving up center stage. When we have found the positive meaning of the story of Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus, it will no longer be incomprehensible or offensive, but will, in fact, be full of light, as we recite in the creed “Conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary.”

The Rose Color Candle Burns Brightly for Those Who Weep

The Rose Color Candle Burns Brightly for Those Who Weep

Dec. 11, 2011 3rd Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 61: 1-2, 10-11       I Thessalonians 5:16-24    John 1:6-8,19-23 

Rejoice always

Brothers and sisters: Rejoice always. Pray at all times. Be thankful in all circumstances . This is what God wants of you, in your life in Christ Jesus. Do not  restrain the Holy Spirit; do not despise inspired messages. Put all things to the test: keep what is good, and avoid evil of every kind.

May the God who gives us peace make you holy in every way, and keep your whole being (spirit, soul, and body) free from  all fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you will do it, because He is faithful

The word of the Lord

Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Glory to you, Lord.

A man named John was sent from God. He came to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.  And this is the testimony of John. When the Jewish authorities from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to  ask John whether he claimed to be the Messiah, he denied it flatly. “I am not the Christ,” he  said.“Well, then,  who are you,” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No,”  he  replied. “Are you the Prophet?” “No.” “Then who are you? Tell us, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?" John answered: "I am the voice of one  in the desert, shouting as Isaiah prophesied, `Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction

Gaudete Sunday

Today, Sunday December 11, is the 3^rd  Sunday of Advent and is called Gaudete Sunday, because the opening words of the old Latin Mass for this Sunday was ”Gaudete!” “Rejoice!” Then this coming Friday, December 17, Late Advent or the Novena of Christmas begins. Before we know it, it’ll be Christmas Day.

3^rd Sunday of Advent – the note of joy

The readings at Mass on the 3^rd  Sunday of Advent  in all three liturgical cycles of A, B and C  strike the note of joy. In last year’s cycle A, the prophet Isaiah promises that, “The desert will rejoice and flowers will bloom in the wastelands.” (Is 35:1) In next year’s cycle C, the prophet Zephaniah exhorts the people to, "Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem!”(Zeph. 3:14)  In this year’s cycle B,  St. Paul exhorts the Thessalonians in the second reading to, “Rejoice always. Pray at all times. Be thankful in all circumstances.” (I Thess 5:16-18)

The opening verse (called the Introit) of the old Latin Mass for the 3^rd  Sunday of Advent was Paul’s command to the Philippians: “Gaudete in Domino semper! Iterum dico gaudete! Dominus enim prope est! “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say rejoice! For the Lord is near.” (Phil. 4:4-5) Because of that opening verse,  the 3^rd Sunday of Advent was  called Gaudete Sunday. And, the  3^rd candle on the Advent wreathe was rose color (instead of penitential purple), because rose is the color of joy.

In the old  days, however, when Advent was heavily penitential like Lent, we were rejoicing on the 3^rd Sunday of Advent not so much because “the Lord was near,” but because Christmas Eve had finally arrived. The penance of Advent was finally over, and we  at last were enjoying the glories and goodies of the Christmas season. 

A command to rejoice?

Gaudete is the command form of the Latin verb to rejoice. The 3^rd Sunday of Advent, with its rose color candle burning brightly commands us to rejoice. What in the world does a command to rejoice  mean? When things are going along really well, no one needs to be commanded to rejoice; that comes automatically and easily.

On the other hand, when things are going along really badly, how in the world can one be commanded to rejoice? How can one be commanded to rejoice when he has just received a very chilling verdict of cancer from his doctor? How can my dear friend Mary be commanded to rejoice, when she has just lost her very beloved partner Bill of 55 years? How can one be commanded to  rejoice, when he has just made a terribly irretrievable mistake  or has just been  plunged into deep grief by some senseless tragedy? How can one  be commanded to rejoice at this Christmas  season, when he is one of the 8.6 percent unemployed? Yes even this: how can one be commanded to rejoice, when he has had to put down his beloved dog – that creature which showed an unconditional love --  of which very few humans are capable.

Rejoice! - a command to the unfortunate

Strange to say, the Gaudete command (the rejoice command) of the 3^rd Sunday of Advent is addressed precisely to those for whom things are going very poorly. It’s not addressed to those who are blessed with good luck, good health, faithful friends, and sufficient means for comfortable living. Such fortunate people need no command to rejoice. It’s the unfortunate who need the Gaudete command. It was  to refugees crammed into a slum district of Jerusalem that the prophet Zephaniah gave the command to,

Sing and shout for joy, people of Israel!

Rejoice with all your heart, Jerusalem!
(Zeph 3:14)

Similarly, it was Paul sitting in prison and bound with chains, who commanded the Philippians to ”Rejoice in the Lord always.” (Phil 4:4)  Paul was especially commanding himself to rejoice. Considering his prison situation, that command, indeed was a mystical utterance.

Fr. Delp’s mystical experience on Gaudete Sunday

Fr. Alfred Delp S. J., also sitting in prison and bound in chains (and eventually executed by Hitler on February 2, 1945),  was also in a mystical experience when wrote in his prison diary for Gaudete Sunday, 1944:

Is it possible to rejoice in a prison cell (a space of three paces in each direction)? Is it possible to rejoice when your hands are fettered, and your heart is overwhelmed with longings, and your head is filled with problems and worries? Yes, happiness can happen even under these circumstances. I tell you every now and then my heart can scarcely contain the delirious joy that's in it. Suddenly, not knowing why, my spirits soar and there is no doubt in my mind that all the promises hold good. But not always. Sometimes it is due to a wonderful premonition of wonderful things to come. (Prison Meditations )

Conclusion

Rose color candle burning brightly for them

Christmas is sometimes characterized as “ the happiest time of the year.” We should sensitize ourselves, however, to the fact that for many it is the saddest time of the year. The Gaudete command and the rose color candle burning brightly on the 3^rd  Sunday of Advent is not primarily for those who are in a great celebratory mood and are riding high. They need no command to rejoice. The rose color candle does not burn  primarily for them.

For those who have received a chilling report from their doctor, or who have lost a beloved and lifelong partner, or who have had to put down man’s best friend, or who have no paycheck to buy the simple joys of Christmas –for them this is the saddest time of the year. And, strange to say, the Gaudete command of this 3^rd Sunday of Advent  is first and foremost  for them. And the rose color candle of the Advent wreath is burning brightly for them.