Christ the Cornerstone

Christ’s coming is near, God is with us, let us share the joy

Brothers and sisters: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit (1 Thes 5:16–24).

The Third Sunday of Advent, which we will celebrate this weekend, is known as Gaudete Sunday.

This special day takes its name from the Latin verse “Gaudete in Domino semper” (“Rejoice in the Lord always”), and it signifies the growing awareness that the Lord is near. With eager anticipation, the Church invites us all to worship and give thanks to God in joy.

Advent is also a penitential season, a time of prayer and self-denial in anticipation of our Lord’s coming again. But this time of waiting should not be dark or gloomy. In fact, we know that Christ has already come, and that he is with us now—even as we look forward to his return. Gaudete Sunday occurs midway through a season which is otherwise a time of longing, and it proclaims the joyful news of the nearness of the Lord.

The first reading for the Third Sunday of Advent (Is 61:1-2a, 10-11) is a heartfelt song of rejoicing. Here the prophet Isaiah acknowledges his role as one “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Is 61:1) who has been called to “bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim ­liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God” (Is 61:1-2).

Isaiah continues:

I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the Earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord God make justice and praise spring up before all the nations. (Is 61:10-11)

Pope Francis would call the one who proclaims these words a “Spirit-filled evangelizer,” and he points out that each of us who are baptized Christians have this same vocation. We are called to be joyful evangelists who bring the good news of our salvation in Christ to all.

The responsorial psalm for Gaudete Sunday is also a proclamation of joy. The refrain, “My soul rejoices in my God,” is from Isaiah (Is 61:10b) but the verses are from Mary’s song, the Magnificat, in St. Luke’s Gospel (Lk 1:46-56). Here, our Blessed Mother’s heart overflows with joy: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Lk 1:46-47).

The second reading (1 Thes 5:16-24) urges us to rejoice as it entreats us to prepare for the Lord’s coming with prayers, supplication and thanksgiving. “Rejoice always” (1 Thes 5:16), St. Paul tells us. “Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 These 5:17-18). It is the Holy Spirit who fills our hearts with Gospel joy and compels us to share generously with others as we await the blessed hope who is Christ the Lord.

Finally, the Gospel for Gaudete Sunday (Jn 1:6-8, 19-28) presents us with the figure of St. John the Baptist. John embodies the prophecy of Isaiah. He is a powerful example of what we are all called to be as Spirit-filled evangelizers. John proclaims: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said” (Jn 1:23). He warns us that the One we are waiting for (the Lamb of God) is actually here among us even though we do not recognize him.

On Gaudete Sunday, we especially embrace the paradox that God is with us even as we wait in hope for Christ’s coming again. During this time of the National Eucharistic Revival, we are invited to rejoice at the real presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of his body and blood, soul and divinity. We proclaim God’s presence in our lives even as we wait in joyful hope for his coming again at Christmas and at the end of time.

Joy and gladness are always the right response to God the Father’s generous gift of his beloved Son to us. “Do not quench the Spirit,”

St. Paul admonishes us (1 Thes 5:19). No matter how bad things may seem, we are called to connect with the joy that always underlies our experience as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ.

As we complete our Advent preparations and eagerly anticipate our Lord’s coming again, let’s pray that the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with joyful expectation. †