We’ve now come to the third Sunday of Advent, a special Sunday, known traditionally as “Gaudete Sunday” from the Latin word “rejoice”: a day focused on joy, and specifically the joy of our hope.  In the first week of Advent, the prayers at Mass begged God for the grace of having the proper approach to our preparation for Christ’s coming and the strength to carry it through.  In the second week, we asked God for help and protection in facing the obstacles that can stand in the way of our meeting Christ.  This Sunday we have a glimpse of the joy that’s coming.  Christmas is near at hand.  The previous two weeks of prayers and readings have focused on vigilance, keeping watch, rushing toward salvation with our prayers and our good works.  We’ve now added the image of eager and unrestrained joy. 

St. Paul tells us to “rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice.”  Joy gives us holiness, and holiness gives us joy.  This is a profound thing.  True joy, Christ teaches us, is friendship with God, living our lives as much as we can according to his perfect plan for us, being the fullness of who God created us to be, by worshiping him as we should and by living our lives thoughtfully, morally, and virtuously.  He wants us all to recognize: my true joy and peace can only come if I internalize deeply my most fundamental identity: I am a child of God.  When we forget that or ignore that, we tend to feel lost and empty and often will start to distract ourselves with various kinds of noise: too much TV, wasted hours on the internet, overeating, overdrinking, sins of the flesh: we try to satisfy ourselves with these things.  They cannot satisfy.  They can only distract.  I trade my joy for a moment of pleasure.  I sometimes love the things that I should just use.  I sometimes use the people that I should just love.  The only cure is the simple but earth-shaking truth that should define our whole lives: I am a child of God.  

And that’s our anchor.  With that outlook, we can live joyfully in the world without contradiction.  We can rejoice in the goodness of God’s creation: we can eat, drink, and be merry, without becoming slaves to our stomachs.  We can enjoy good and healthy recreation, enriched by the artistry of music, books, movies, without becoming mindless zombies.  We can use the internet and the social media as support for real human interaction rather than a substitute for it.  We can be holy, happy, and peaceful people, preserved blameless for the coming of the Lord: if we remember who we are.  Sons and daughters of God.  Our Lord has promised, “Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you,” unless we separate ourselves from the source of that joy.  That’s why St. John the Baptist insisted upon something profound: there is only one God and I am not he.  There is only one Savior.  There is only one Christ.  Only he can support us all our life long.  And so we rejoice in Lord.  

Our gratitude will show itself in greater faith, ever-increasing hope, and in our care and love for others.  And this is the root of our mission in the world.  To have a genuine and mature joy, deep and quiet, which shines forth to the world.  It’s a magnificent moment for a Christian when, without any outward effort on our part, someone notices.  A friend sees in our eyes and in our way of living, a deep and abiding peace, and he longs for it.  He catches a glimpse, and he want to follow this river of joy back to its source.  And so we try to fulfill our duties at home and at work happily and without fanfare.  We try to turn our minds to God many times throughout the day.  And we try to make life pleasant for other people even in little ways that seem to have little importance in themselves but which can make such a huge difference: a smile, a friendly greeting, a word of praise, yielding cheerfully in a matter of personal preference.  Little things matter.  These little things really matter.  Our outlook and our joy really matter.  And not just for us.  Our mission is to bring joy to a world which is sad at heart, because it is drifting further and further from God.  May the spirit people see in us lead those in our lives to the source of all true happiness, Christ the Lord.  Gaudete in Domino.  Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I say, rejoice.