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On this 3^rd Sunday of Advent we are invited to rejoice and be at peace. As we prepare for Christmas let’s remember to find joy and peace in our relationship with God and share that joy with others. The 3^rd Sunday of Advent is also called Gaudette Sunday. Gaudette is a Latin word that means “rejoice”. There is a pink or rose candle instead of a purple one on the Advent wreath. It is a reminder that the Advent season is a season of joy because the the coming of Jesus, the Light, into the world is a cause for rejoicing. We are called to rejoice always by staying grounded in our relationship with Jesus, who remains unchanging amid life’s fluctuations. The pink/rose candle in the wreath is the colour. of the clouds and the morning sun, announcing the coming of dawn… in the dawning of a new day, a new beginning, perhaps even a new life… it’s a herald of ” hope” for the future. Advent everywhere is a source of hope and longing, and of joyful celebration.

These days, even though merchants and advertisers give the impression that joy is the equivalent of pleasure and can be bought ( which we know isn’t really true), at their best the songs and sentiments of this season tell us that joy is found in relationships, especially with family and friends. We can, most often, find joy in all the loving things we do for others in this or any other season : in the helpfulness we extend to those in pain ; in the thoughtfulness we give to the deprived especially the hungry , the homeless and the elderly ; in the understanding we give to those who are bereaved ; and in our overall efforts to make our lives together more loving.

Once more this year we have had to struggle to find peace and joy in the world – peace among nations , peace among ethnic groups , peace in our own country , peace in our work places. We find ourselves amidst so many problems – the decline of the nuclear family , lack of jobs , lack of housing for many ,  drug problems and on and on and on.  We can be tempted to throw up our hands and declare that there’s nothing we can do to overcome them. The issues are too big and we are too small. How can we find joy in this? But in the first reading today we are told two times not to “fear”. God will be with us ; He will be in the midst of our trials and we should try to not let anything discourage us. We have to try to stay calm and trust that God is taking care of us. He wants us to experience the hope , peace and joy especially during this Advent season. 

Years ago I wrote a reflection on this same Gaudette Sunday which could still apply to today. ” Advent is the time when we hope for little moments of joy and invite God to use us as instruments of joy to the world. We could take time  today to recall things that have brought us joy and one thing we could do is share joy with someone in the coming week. ” I think  I can understand the message on a poster I once saw. It simply said ” JOY IS AT KOME WITH JESUS ” That’s it, it proposes Jesus’ joy to us.

~Cathy Keirstead