This third Sunday of the Advent Season is known as Gaudete Sunday; Gaudete is pronounced in three syllables: Gow-day-tay “rejoice” in Latin. During the season of Advent, we await the celebration of Christ’s birth and His coming again at the end of time. Over four weeks, we prepare our hearts for Christmas in penitential reflection. But in the middle of the season, Gaudete Sunday calls us to rejoice in hope! A few facts about this special day, “Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin. Why do we light a pink (rose) candle on Gaudete Sunday? The Catholic Church uses the color rose to indicate a joyful feast day or holiday. Gaudete Sunday’s counterpart in Lent is Laetare Sunday, another break in penance to rejoice in hope as we approach Easter. During both days, a priest will usually wear rose vestments.” Catholic Extension
This third Sunday brings us to a turning point in the season of Advent, beginning on the 16th of December our readings will pivot from the Second Coming and Apocalyptic readings to the memorialization of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and so now focus on the coming into humanity of the Divinity of God: His Son, Jesus, is born into the world—the Word made flesh—so that humanity has an example and an illustration of Christian dignity for us to imitate. So as the readings pivot to more joyful expression of the birth of Jesus, so too does our music become more joyful and filled with praise for our God’s Salvation.
During this Sunday—and in the weeks of Christmas to come—we focus on and celebrate the great gift of God: to be born again in water and Spirit, so as to become a disciple of Christ in our human lives and prepare for His coming again when all we be made anew. In the meantime, we have to begin making things “anew” now with the actions and words of our lives. Will we feed the hungry? Will we care for the sick and the poor? Will we educate the ignorant, and pray for the lost and wandering? These are some of the Corporal Works of Mercy that our Catholic Church proclaims amid the Truths of Christ. These are the joyful obligations that each Christian is called to be and to live-out in-and-through their lives