This command, taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, is the entrance antiphon for the 3rd Sunday of Advent, from which this Sunday gets its traditional nickname: Gaudete Sunday, which means “(You all) Rejoice Sunday”. St. Paul sets a high bar; he wants us to know that our rejoicing should not be temporary or conditional, but complete and everlasting: “Rejoice in the Lord always!” (Phil4:4). There should be no time in the Christian’s life when we are not rejoicing…but how is this possible? It seems far-fetched, given that we dwell in a vale of tears, and perhaps Paul’s first listeners thought the same thing. Yet St. Paul doubles down: “I say it again, rejoice!” And almost as an answer to the unspoken question as to how we could possibly always rejoice, Paul tells us we can do just that because “the Lord is near” (Phil 4:5). The Liturgy teaches us that our joy comes from the Lord, and when He draws near, we have everything we need to rejoice. We sing this on the 3rd Sunday because it marks the turning point in our Christmas preparations, when the feast of the Lord’s Nativity is finally drawing close; but this command to rejoice in the Presence of the Lord is meant to define our lives always, and in reality we can always rejoice so long as we always have the Lord.
Joy is a fruit of charity, it is the fruit of possessing that which is the cause of our joy, and the cause of our joy is love, namely, the One Who is Love. When we possess God, we possess the source of joy, and that joy is only diminished when there is something placing a limit on our possession of Him. In this life, God is present to the soul by grace, and if that grace is alive and thriving in us, our joy is abundant; where that grace is absent (through mortal sin) or hampered (through intentional venial sin or earthly attachment), our possession of charity is diminished or, in the case of mortal sin, entirely lost, and our joy follows suit. Of course, there is a sadness that accompanies certain trials and hardships, such as sickness or the loss of one we love, and this sadness is not opposed to joy, as it is merely a grief at things that are contrary to our happiness. But in such times, as long as we possess God and are in His friendship, those trials do not rob us of our joy, because only sin can do that. St. Paul says there is no earthly power that can separate us from the love of God (cf. Rom 8:39), provided we do not willingly forfeit that love through sin. To live in the House of the Lord all the days of our lives, which in a real way means to dwell where He dwells by remaining in His grace: this is the source of our joy in life, something we remember fondly at Christmas and strive to realize more and more in our daily lives.
The Lord desires to form within each of us a kind of paradise, a recreation of the Garden of Eden in our souls. This happens when He dwells freely within us by grace, as He dwelt with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Paradise, which we also call Heaven, is anywhere the Lord is found, and those who find Him already enjoy something of the Paradise only He can give. In the Christian life, conversion means converting our lives away from those things that are opposed to paradise, opposed to happiness, opposed to Heaven, so that we can turn more freely towards the things of the Lord; in other words, conversion is returning to Paradise, returning to Eden. This is why, for the Christian, conversion is a beautiful thing – because it brings us back to God. Even when God is asking us to turn from something to which we have grown accustomed or attached, even when we have to repent of a sin that has become so familiar and comfortable and in some sense “safe” to us, we remember that it is only so that God can dwell in us and we can dwell in God, and from this mutual indwelling of God in the soul and the soul in God arises a joy and peace and comfort nothing on this earth could ever give. That’s the joy of Christmas, and it’s a joy that remains with us always. To have God is enough for joy, because He alone satisfies.
On a different note, but one still related to things that bring joy, our parish is taking another pilgrimage in July of 2024. If you’re still hunting for that perfect Christmas gift, this might be it! Consider joining the parish as we travel to Catholic Germany and Austria, where we will celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Saint Henry’s death at the shrine where he and St. Kunegunda are buried. By making a pilgrimage to this and many other holy places, it is my hope that this pilgrimage will be a source of grace for our parish family as we place ourselves together under Saint Henry’s patronage. It was such a joy to pilgrimage with the parish to the Holy Land, and I look forward to sharing that joy together next year. There is information about the pilgrimage itinerary at the doors of church, and feel free to reach out to the office if you have any questions. May God bless you in the week ahead and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Affectionately Yours in Christ,
Fr. Hess
