The Third Sunday of Advent—mirroring the Third Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday, brings us to a period in the more solemn season of Advent when we “get” a glimpse of the Joy that is about to be ours on Christmas morning with the birth and Incarnation of Christ our Savior.

The entrance antiphon (you will see this on page 40 of your missal) for Gaudete Sunday is “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed the Lord is near.” This informs us of the special Joy we are called to recognize on this Third Sunday in Advent which tells us of the great news that God and all of His Divinity will intersect with humanity in the birth of Christ—God will become human and share in all things human save for sin. He will experience our humanity and leave us with the example of Righteousness, showing us that it is not impossible for each of us to be called to holiness. It is in Christ that humanity takes on the image and likeness of God, meaning that we share in His Divine attributes of Love, Compassion and Mercy and thus can become bearers of His holiness by allowing God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

So why wouldn’t we Rejoice?!? As we come to Mass to celebrate the Eucharist and to praise God for His magnificence, why aren’t we filled with great joy? Mass should not be a chore or an “obligation” to fit in along with a million other things such as soccer or hockey or marketing at Stop and Shop. Mass should be the priority that then informs all the other things we do during the rest of our day(s). The revelation that God created me specifically and out of His Love; that He then redeemed me by the death and Resurrection of His only Son out of His Love; and, that He sustains me by His Love in the Holy Spirit and will call me back to Him to live forever in His Love in the eternal Kingdom—should make me very, very, very happy. Period! For His Love has saved me and nothing can “harm a hair on my head” since He will make all things anew. Rejoice? Heck, we should be dancing down the aisles—and I mean that.

In just two short weeks we will celebrate the memorial of His birth and will have the opportunity again—as we do each year—to recommit to Him. In that recommitment, we must come to recognize that God’s Sacred Word is Truth and that while it may be inconvenient at times to live ac- cording to His Truth, HisTruth does not change because the modern world finds it hard to accept or far too easy to ridicule and mock. Remember when the people mocked Him on the Cross, Christ did not renounce them but rather said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” That is His Love. How many of us would say the same words to those who ridicule or mock us? And, even more evidence of His Love was given when one thief mocked Him on the Cross and the other thief recognized Him for who He was—King of Kings—and Christ not only forgave him but said, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.” This is the Love that we celebrate on Christmas morning and every Sunday—a Love that knows no limits, a Love that desires us and comes searching after us, calling us back to Him (as in the accounts of the Prodigal’s Son, the Lost Coin, the Lost Sheep) which is meant to illustrate to us of how much God

Wants us to be with Him for all eternity. And all He asks of us in return is to trust and hope in Him and His Ways. Just think about that: The God who has created all things and is all-powerful desires us to live with Him forever. I have one word for how that should make us feel: Rejoice!