Certain Sundays throughout the liturgical year have taken their names from the first word in Latin of the Introit; the entrance antiphon at Mass. Gaudete Sunday is one of these. What Is Gaudete Sunday? The Introit for Gaudete Sunday, in both the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo, is taken from Philippians 4:4, 5 “Gaudete in Domino semper” ("Rejoice in the Lord always"). Like Lent, Advent is a penitential season, so the priest normally wears purple or /violet vestments. But on Gaudete Sunday, having passed the midpoint of Advent, the Church lightens the mood a little, and the priest may wear rose vestments. The change in color provides us with encouragement to continue our spiritual preparation—especially prayer and fasting—for Christmas. For this same reason, the third candle of the Advent wreath, first lit on Gaudete Sunday, is traditionally rose-colored. Gaudete Sunday has a counterpart in Lent: Laetare Sunday.

In the Catholic Church, Advent is a period of preparation, extending over four Sundays, before Christmas. Thus, the word Advent comes from the Latin advenio, "to come to," and refers to the coming of Christ. This refers, first of all, to our celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas; but second, to the coming of Christ in our lives through grace and the Sacrament of Holy Communion; and finally, to His Second Coming at the end of time. Our preparations, therefore, should have all three
comings in mind.. (Attribution: Scott P. Richert, Catholicism Expert, “About Religion”) We need to prepare our souls to receive Christ worthily—so that at His Second Coming we too will be worthily
received into His Divine Life for all Eternity

How do we prepare in Advent—and why? For many folks, thinking about incorporating faith into our daily activities of life—sports, school, work and even family gatherings—can be challenging. After all, our current American culture does not encourage open discussion about church or belief in God. Just today I heard a discussion between educators who in their attempt to encourage diversity in the classroom incorporate conversations and lessons on topics such as the Jewish and
Muslim faiths—but not Christian teachings and certainly not Roman Catholic. One participant in the conversation was Catholic. It seems that in today’s culture diversity is not truly diverse—nor is tolerance completely tolerant—but rather diversity or tolerance only applies in the pubic square to what is politically correct or popular. For many, Christ has become an “embarrassment.”

But for those who are believers and who seek to live their Christian or Catholic faith out in daily life, we must listen not to this week’s politician pandering to certain demographic groups or entertainers and sport icons who think their opinion is the same thing as a well-formed conscience, rather we must listen to the words of Christ, “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

What does that mean? At the end of every Catholic Mass, the priest ends the final blessing with these or similar words: The Mass has ended, go in peace! This is part of our Christian commissioning—fulfillment of our baptismal obligation—to become proclaimers of the Good News of the Gospels. Each one of us is meant to leave the Church having listened to the Word of
God in Sacred Scripture, having been nourished by the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament of Unity—the Eucharist—and by having been strengthen by our public worship
together in community and so become agents of Transformation in the world around us. If we have been Transformed by the Sacraments and Words of Christ, then we are to be Conformed
to Christ in the world around us—doing His Will through our words and deeds.

In this Season of Advent we are asked by the Church to prepare ourselves for this Transformation and Conformation—through deeper prayer, more thorough reading of the Word of God, and by ongoing reception of the Sacraments of the Church—the Eucharist and Confession. In this we are
strengthened and conformed to Christ—so that we may truly become the Gift of Christmas to others.

In the Season of the Incarnation—the Birth of Christ—we are called to proclaim our faith to all in our words and deeds. But we are called to offer that gift of Christ in a particular way. We do not offer the gift of a Christian Discipleship by beating people over the head with a Bible or demanding that people worship our way or force them to swear an oath of allegiance or face death—rather we are called to call people to love: “to love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34-35)

This is the great gift of Christ—JOY—and this is what we celebrate this Gaudete Sunday: Joy—the Joy that is about to come our way, the Incarnation of God made man. That God has decided to come to earth from the heavens and take on human flesh so that we may have a perfect example of what it means to live out our human lives doing the work of God. We are to becoming His partners in His creation and salvation, albeit junior partners for sure, yet partners nonetheless with God in building up the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

And we wrap our Christmas gift of faith not in demands but rather in love. And the “love wrapping” we use as a Church are the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy which are the life blood of our faith in the daily activities of human life. Like Christ, we feed those who are hungry, we clothe those who have little to wear, we house and shelter those who have no place to lay their head, we care for the sick who have no place to turn, and we teach the ignorant who through no fault of their own have no experience of the love and compassion of our God. And we offer these Christmas (Christian) gifts not to our brother and sister Catholics alone, but to anyone who is in need, anyone who has not yet met Christ. For that is what lies at the essence of our Baptismal call: “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

This Advent Season we can all use a special prayer to ask the Lord to grant us this grace: make me, Lord, Your disciple so that I may go forth to all the world with Your love and bring them home to
You. Amen! Blessed Advent and Happy Christmas! Now that would be a real Gaudete Sunday—and Season.