Rejoice always
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
The 3rd Sunday of Advent is called “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete is Latin for “rejoice.” It is a command taken directly from Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, as in today’s second reading: “Rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). It is a positive command, one that we are supposed to keep at all times and in all circumstances.
As we sing in the Lord of the Dance, “It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.” As followers of Christ, we know that life on earth is not always rosy, but life after death is bliss. Our hope is not in this life only. That is why we are able to rejoice in good times and in bad, as Jesus himself did.
Author Leo Buscaglia tells a story about his mother which shows that it takes a lot of faith to rejoice. His father came back from work one day and announced that he had lost all his money because his business partner had duped him and ran away with their firm's funds. That same evening, his mother went out, sold some of her expensive jewelry, and bought food for a sumptuous feast. People criticized her for reckless spending at a time when poverty was staring her in the face. But she told them that "the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week." Her courageous act rallied the family and gave them the hope they needed to face the future with confidence and trust that God was in control.
The call to be joyful does not mean a call to overexcitement. Christian joy is profound, deep, unshakeable, and permanent. And being a joyful Christian doesn’t mean that we cannot feel sorrow, grief, or sadness. The truly joyful person feels these emotions very deeply – and expresses them without embarrassment.
We may all wonder: Is it possible to be happy all the time? On the other hand, what do we need to do to have the disposition to rejoice always? First of all, the realistic Catholic knows well that honest striving for holiness involves suffering. And suffering threatens to take away our happiness.
Christmas time is a time of great joy for Christians. Paul says it quite clearly, in our second reading today: “Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always!” It seems an odd thing for a man to write who is in prison and on the way to execution to see so much cause for joy. What is the secret for Paul? What is it that causes him, in the face of prison and possible death to see joy when others in the face of the holidays are depressed? I think the key to understanding the difference between the two outlooks lies two sentences further on. Paul says The Lord is near. For St. Paul, his nearness to Christ is what brings him his joy. He tells other Christians it should be their joy as well. The nearness of Christ to our hearts is the deciding factor upon whether we look on our life with joy or with gloom.
A fully human life is one that is turned outward toward others and toward God. It is oriented toward community and others rather than self. St. Therese of Lisieux compared herself to a little flower and I think that analogy for the soul is a good one here. A flower turned in upon itself is wilted and dead. A flower turned outwards toward others and the Sun is living, vibrant and in bloom. In the same way a soul turned in upon itself is dying, dead or in a state of decay. A living, vibrant and healthy soul is turned outwards toward God and others. That is why St. Paul can so easily tell us: Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. For St. Paul his joy is Jesus Christ. He carries that joy within him wherever he goes. His situation or the things he have cannot shake the foundations of his joy, which is Jesus Christ. If we too want the same, unshakeable joy that he has, then we must build upon the same foundation which is Jesus Christ. The key to happiness or unhappiness lies in our relationship with the Lord. The only thing that will make us truly happy is God. If our relationship is good then we are joyful. If it is bad then the joy we experience in life is fleeting at best and in most cases not true joy. The things we seek in the world other than God are not the keys to our happiness. Things or people cannot bring us lasting happiness because they are breakable, they can be lost, and they can change. Only the unbreakable, the unshakeable and the unchangeable God can bring us the joy we seek. Only in God can we find the firm foundation that brings us the joy we all hope for. Even in the midst of difficult situations, we can be joyful, if we have Jesus.
Another tool for happiness is to ‘Be humble’. if we listen to today’s Gospel we see the importance of humility in our lives and as a way to make sure that we don’t lose our joy and peace when difficult times come our way.
St. John the Baptist gives us a great example of humility. People were coming to him to be baptized and the “Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, ‘Who are you’ he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, ‘I am not the Christ’
He could have given importance to himself and talk about the importance of his life and mission. He defers and talks about Jesus, ‘there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie’
He shows us the value of humility. The humility of knowing who he was, accepting the Will of God for him and being happy to forget about himself, to the point of asking his own disciples to go and follow Jesus.
Finally, to remain in joy, St. Paul encourages us to ‘pray without ceasing’. Let us not forget that Advent and then Christmas are a time to intensify our prayer. As St. Paul says in today’s second reading: ‘May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ’
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, it is hard for us to live a life of rejoicing always, but the One who calls us to this life is one who always provides us what we really need to follow His commands. He is faithful, and He will do it in our lives. Rejoice always. Whether we are joyful or sad, One day we are going to die. Be happy and help others to be happy.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
The 3rd Sunday of Advent is called “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete is Latin for “rejoice.” It is a command taken directly from Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, as in today’s second reading: “Rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). It is a positive command, one that we are supposed to keep at all times and in all circumstances.
As we sing in the Lord of the Dance, “It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.” As followers of Christ, we know that life on earth is not always rosy, but life after death is bliss. Our hope is not in this life only. That is why we are able to rejoice in good times and in bad, as Jesus himself did.
Author Leo Buscaglia tells a story about his mother which shows that it takes a lot of faith to rejoice. His father came back from work one day and announced that he had lost all his money because his business partner had duped him and ran away with their firm's funds. That same evening, his mother went out, sold some of her expensive jewelry, and bought food for a sumptuous feast. People criticized her for reckless spending at a time when poverty was staring her in the face. But she told them that "the time for joy is now, when we need it most, not next week." Her courageous act rallied the family and gave them the hope they needed to face the future with confidence and trust that God was in control.
The call to be joyful does not mean a call to overexcitement. Christian joy is profound, deep, unshakeable, and permanent. And being a joyful Christian doesn’t mean that we cannot feel sorrow, grief, or sadness. The truly joyful person feels these emotions very deeply – and expresses them without embarrassment.
We may all wonder: Is it possible to be happy all the time? On the other hand, what do we need to do to have the disposition to rejoice always? First of all, the realistic Catholic knows well that honest striving for holiness involves suffering. And suffering threatens to take away our happiness.
Christmas time is a time of great joy for Christians. Paul says it quite clearly, in our second reading today: “Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always!” It seems an odd thing for a man to write who is in prison and on the way to execution to see so much cause for joy. What is the secret for Paul? What is it that causes him, in the face of prison and possible death to see joy when others in the face of the holidays are depressed? I think the key to understanding the difference between the two outlooks lies two sentences further on. Paul says The Lord is near. For St. Paul, his nearness to Christ is what brings him his joy. He tells other Christians it should be their joy as well. The nearness of Christ to our hearts is the deciding factor upon whether we look on our life with joy or with gloom.
A fully human life is one that is turned outward toward others and toward God. It is oriented toward community and others rather than self. St. Therese of Lisieux compared herself to a little flower and I think that analogy for the soul is a good one here. A flower turned in upon itself is wilted and dead. A flower turned outwards toward others and the Sun is living, vibrant and in bloom. In the same way a soul turned in upon itself is dying, dead or in a state of decay. A living, vibrant and healthy soul is turned outwards toward God and others. That is why St. Paul can so easily tell us: Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. For St. Paul his joy is Jesus Christ. He carries that joy within him wherever he goes. His situation or the things he have cannot shake the foundations of his joy, which is Jesus Christ. If we too want the same, unshakeable joy that he has, then we must build upon the same foundation which is Jesus Christ. The key to happiness or unhappiness lies in our relationship with the Lord. The only thing that will make us truly happy is God. If our relationship is good then we are joyful. If it is bad then the joy we experience in life is fleeting at best and in most cases not true joy. The things we seek in the world other than God are not the keys to our happiness. Things or people cannot bring us lasting happiness because they are breakable, they can be lost, and they can change. Only the unbreakable, the unshakeable and the unchangeable God can bring us the joy we seek. Only in God can we find the firm foundation that brings us the joy we all hope for. Even in the midst of difficult situations, we can be joyful, if we have Jesus.
Another tool for happiness is to ‘Be humble’. if we listen to today’s Gospel we see the importance of humility in our lives and as a way to make sure that we don’t lose our joy and peace when difficult times come our way.
St. John the Baptist gives us a great example of humility. People were coming to him to be baptized and the “Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, ‘Who are you’ he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, ‘I am not the Christ’
He could have given importance to himself and talk about the importance of his life and mission. He defers and talks about Jesus, ‘there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie’
He shows us the value of humility. The humility of knowing who he was, accepting the Will of God for him and being happy to forget about himself, to the point of asking his own disciples to go and follow Jesus.
Finally, to remain in joy, St. Paul encourages us to ‘pray without ceasing’. Let us not forget that Advent and then Christmas are a time to intensify our prayer. As St. Paul says in today’s second reading: ‘May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ’
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, it is hard for us to live a life of rejoicing always, but the One who calls us to this life is one who always provides us what we really need to follow His commands. He is faithful, and He will do it in our lives. Rejoice always. Whether we are joyful or sad, One day we are going to die. Be happy and help others to be happy.
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