Dear Friends,
During this third week of Advent, we celebrate Gaudate on Sunday. Gaudate is Latin for “rejoice,” the first words of the opening antiphon for mass. This Sunday is unique as the third candle lit in the Advent wreath is colored rose rather than violet. Along with the candle, the priests and deacons who celebrate wear rose vestments. In this season of purple, the rose of Gaudete Sunday sticks out as a symbol of joy and rallies us to persevere in our Advent practices as the celebration of our Lord’s birth draws near. The Lord is near, so rejoice!
The old practices of Advent used to resemble the 40 days of preparation during Lent more closely. Preparation for Christmas would begin on November 12 with the feast of Saint Martin. Because of this, the Advent season was also known as “Saint Martin’s Lent.” In the 9th century, Advent was reduced from 40 days to four weeks. However, Advent still bore a resemblance to Lent as a season of repentance and preparation.
The faithful would take on stricter practices of prayer and penance as a way to prepare for the Christmas celebration. They would fast on Wednesdays and Fridays and implement devotions meant to aid in reflecting on the incarnation/birth of Christ. In a season of penitential purple, it can be easy for one to become self-absorbed with their own struggles and the darkness of the world, so it makes sense that the Church would introduce a special Sunday to emphasize the reason for our preparations.
Gaudate Sunday serves as a breaker to the Advent season, emphasizing the joy of our Lord’s coming. We are biased in our views since many, if not all of us, grew up with an awareness of the Christmas message: that God so loved the world that he sent his only son to become one of us and lay down his life for the sake of our salvation. For us, we know that Jesus arrived; that he was born in Bethlehem, taught and performed miracles in the Holy Land, was crucified on Golgotha, rose from the dead in Jerusalem, and ascended into heaven.
Considering how desensitized we are to the mysteries of our faith, it is to our benefit that we place ourselves in the shoes of the world before the incarnation. For the Israelites, in particular, their season of Advent and their anticipation of the Messiah’s arrival lasted centuries. During those centuries, they suffered the pains of a fallen, dark world and wrestled with their own sinfulness. Imagine then the power of the announcement of the opening antiphon, “Rejoice in the Lord always; Again I say rejoice! The Lord is near!” The Lord is near! After centuries of darkness, the light of the messiah is now imminent. We ought not take this for granted but instead commit our hearts to rejoice.
Gaudate Sunday then helps us to remember why we prepare, why we keep the faith, and why we hope. It is because the Lord is near! We are encouraged to rejoice, not alone but with the entire communion of saints, the choir of angels, and those who bear the light of Christ given to shine in the midst of a dark world. And so, in this third week of Advent, we are emboldened to go forth with courage and confidence, rejoicing in the gift of our Lord's presence and the hope of his victory over the darkness. We rejoice with a joy that does not shrink away in the face of hardship but instead shines bright in spite of the darkness.
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