Recently I was hearing Confessions for a men’s retreat. I was posted at a spot outside with a propane space heater nearby to keep me warm in the midst of the cold December evening. As I sat there and stared into the undulating heat of the space heater and its glowing grill, my mind went to the enormity of God’s burning love for us. Images of the Sacred Heart almost always feature flames shooting up out of the top to remind us of the burning intensity of the love of God. What a gift we have as Christian people during this time of Advent to draw close to Jesus and the burning love of His Sacred Heart.
This Third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday because of the entrance Antiphon for today’s Mass: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.” The first word of that Antiphon in Latin is ‘gaudete,’ which means ‘rejoice.’ So today the Church directs us back once again to the reason for our rejoicing: Jesus and the miracle of His coming among us.
The readings for Mass continue to draw our hearts towards the example of St. John the Baptist. We heard Last Sunday about his proclamation of the Kingdom as he baptized people in the Jordan River. Everything about John’s ministry spoke of a momentous time where the Messiah was near. So again this Sunday our hearts have the opportunity to rejoice because, like St. John the Baptist, we have the privilege of encountering Jesus, the light of the world, the light of our hearts.
The Gospel tells us about a conversation between John and his followers where he is clarifying that he is not the messiah, and he won’t allow them to speculate on who he might be. In the book of Sirach, we hear descriptions hinting at a return of the great prophet Elijah before the “day of the Lord.” So people were really excited about John, but John refuses to let them focus on him. Instead he redirects them to the coming Messiah, saying, “I baptize with water; but 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.”
John was able to humbly prepare people for Jesus, their Messiah, because he had already had the opportunity to spend time with Jesus and have his heart formed by Him. This is alluded to by his words about the messiah already being among them. John was blessed by the Holy Spirit with faith to recognize that Jesus was the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” His heart already rejoiced at the Lord and because of this, John had the humility to simply point others toward Jesus and His coming. This rejoicing that comes from God also allows us to humbly get out of our own way and simply be caught up in the beauty, power and love of Jesus, our messiah.
This is our challenge as we celebrate this Sunday dedicated to rejoicing. We are called to clear out the distractions of other things which can easily intrude into our hearts and keep them from being focused on the Lord. St. John realized that he wasn’t the center of God’s amazing plan, but just a player in it, a “voice crying out in the desert.” We have that same ability today. God invites our hearts to be filled with the joy, peace, love and faith that the candles of the Advent wreath symbolize. We too are called to embrace the same humility that St. John the Baptist practiced so well, which allowed him to rejoice in the coming messiah and point others toward Him.
Because of the time John had spent with Jesus, his heart had been transformed. His experience with the messiah had overwhelmed his heart with joy, and this made him a person of rejoicing. Rejoicing happens because of the overflow of our hearts. So, like St. John the Baptist, let’s take the opportunity to spend quality time with Jesus. One great way to do this is in Adoration. Twice a month, on the first and third Fridays of the month, we put Jesus in the Eucharist on the altar for a little over an hour after Mass so we can sit and gaze upon Him, adore Him and spend intimate time with Him in prayer. This is an amazing opportunity to just let yourself be in the presence of Jesus and let Him give you that overflow of joy that leads to rejoicing. Even beyond these opportunities with exposition, we can stop into the church during the day just to sit and be close to Jesus’ real presence here in the Tabernacle, opening our hearts to the joy He wants to give.
Another great way to be filled with joy through encountering the Lord is in Reconciliation. When we humbly come before Him and confess our sins, Jesus removes that weight of sin and replaces it with His overflowing grace. Some of the biggest moments of joy in my life have come from walking out of the Confessional with a heart made light by the grace and mercy of Jesus. It is easy to rejoice when our hearts are full of the joy that comes from being reconciled to the Father through Jesus’ abundant grace.
St. Paul challenges us in the second reading to rejoice always. In order to do this we need to make specific times to draw close to the One who fills us with true joy. If we avoid those meetings with the Lord, we will miss out on the joy He wants to fill us with. We live in a time where so many are looking for joy in the empty things of this world: money, entertainment, and superficial relationships. As Christians, we have the enormous blessing of having access to the Source of joy that our hearts are made for. Listen again to that beautiful prophecy of Isaiah that we began with in our readings today:
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me 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.
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.
What a beautiful description of the joy available to us, leading to rejoicing. We have that awesome gift of the Spirit through Jesus and His presence and work. Will we allow Him to make us those who rejoice in Him so that our rejoicing can lead the poor, brokenhearted, captives and prisoners to Him like St. John the Baptist did for those who came to Him? Going back to the image of that space heater I began with, I couldn’t help but be drawn in by its heat and warmth. That is our call, to be people whose lives of rejoicing draws others to the Source of our joy.
+ Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of this Sunday and the remaining days of Advent. Help us to use them to grow in rejoicing. Jesus, please fill our hearts to overflowing with your joy so that our rejoicing might draw others to you. Holy Spirit, help us to recognize and repent from all that turns our hearts away from the joy of the Lord. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. +