More thoughts on Gaudete Sunday

Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, is a time of joy and anticipation in the liturgical calendar. The name "Gaudete" comes from the Latin word for "rejoice," and this Sunday invites us to rejoice in the near arrival of our Savior. 

The liturgical color of rose used on this day symbolizes joy and hope amidst the penitential season of Advent.

As we celebrate this moment of joyful expectation, it is a perfect opportunity to reflect on the profound message of Our Lady of Fatima and her Immaculate Heart. Our Lady's call to prayer, penance, and conversion resonates deeply with the spirit of Advent.

Her message invites us to prepare our hearts for Christ's coming with sincerity and devotion!

The Immaculate Heart of Mary, full of grace and love, offers a model for our own preparation. 

Just as Gaudete Sunday encourages us to find joy in our journey towards Christ, Our Lady of Fatima’s Immaculate Heart reminds us of the transformative power of opening our hearts to God's grace and love. 

Her example of purity, humility, and unwavering faith can inspire us to approach this Advent season with renewed fervor and devotion.

Let us, therefore, use this Gaudete Sunday as an opportunity to rejoice in the hope of Christ’s coming, while also embracing the call of Our Lady of Fatima. 

Wishing you a blessed Gaudete Sunday and a joyful Advent season!

In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,

Christopher P. Wendt
International Director
Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima

Third Sunday of Advent

 

Third Sunday of Advent

Matthew 11:2–11

Friends, in today’s Gospel, John the Baptist asks if Jesus is “the one . . . or should we look for another?” When this inquiry is conveyed to Jesus, the Lord does not respond theoretically but rather by pointing to things that are happening. “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” Was Jesus doing all of this in the literal sense? Yes! That he was a miracle worker and a healer was one of the most fundamental perceptions regarding Jesus. When God came among us in Christ, he effected the work of repairing his broken and hurting creation. He is not interested simply in souls but in bodies as well. And so we hear indeed of the man born blind, of Bartimaeus, of the paralyzed man lowered down through the roof to Jesus, of the woman with the flow of blood, of the man who is deaf and dumb to whom Jesus says “Ephphatha!” (Be opened!). We hear of Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus and the son of the widow of Nain. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Luke 1:39–47

Friends, today we celebrate the great feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. What followed the apparition of Mary at Tepeyac is one of the most astounding chapters in the history of Christian evangelism. In 1531, on the hill of Tepeyac, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego—a humble Indigenous man—and left behind one of the greatest miracles in the history of the Church: her image, imprinted on his tilma. Though Franciscan missionaries had been laboring in Mexico for twenty years, they had made little progress. But within ten years of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe, practically the entire Mexican people, nine million strong, had converted to Christianity. Our Lady of Guadalupe had proved a more effective evangelist than Peter, Paul, Patrick, and Francis Xavier combined! And with that great national conversion, the Aztec practice of human sacrifice came to an end. She had done battle with fallen spirits and had won a culture-changing victory for the God of love. Our Lady of Guadalupe continues to inspire hearts and call people to her Son throughout the world today. Her message of compassion, unity, and conversion still resounds powerfully across cultures and generations. The challenge for us who honor her today is to join the same fight. We must announce to our culture today the truth of the God of Israel, the God of Jesus Christ, the God of nonviolence and forgiving love. And we ought, like Our Lady of Guadalupe, to be bearers of Jesus to a world that needs him more than ever. Bishop Robert Barron

Thoughts on Gaudete Sunday

                                                                 

Who do you believe is the greatest human being to have lived? In today’s Gospel Jesus says it is John the Baptist: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist . . . .” (Mt. 11:11) Certainly, John the Baptist was impressive: He was the culmination of all the Old Testament prophets; he had the courage to be unpopular; he was strong and unwavering, clearly announcing the arrival of the Messiah. But rather surprisingly, Jesus continues: “Yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

           

We are those “least in the kingdom of heaven.” John the Baptist lacked that which the simplest Christian has, what we have: John never knew of the Cross; he never saw the Cross of Christ. So, he never knew the full revelation of God’s love.

 

The Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday (Rejoice Sunday). That’s why the vestments are rose colored and flowers adorn the altar. Why should we rejoice? Because Christmas draws near. But the more complete reason lies in three things: the crib, the Cross, and the Church.

• If we look to the crib, we see the hope of new life, and the fulfillment of all God’s promises.
• If we look to the Cross, we see the assurance of God’s love, and the redemptive value of suffering.
• If we look to the Church, we see the abiding presence of God in the world; His grace,

His sacraments, and His forgiveness even now.

This Wednesday marks the 182^nd anniversary of the publication of the world’s best loved Christmas story, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, published December 17, 1843.

• It’s called by literary scholars the “most outstanding Christmas myth of modern literature.”
• Dickens said that he laughed and cried over this short novel as he did over no other.
• A Christmas Carol has changed hearts and spread love at Christmas for 182 years.
• Because it’s all about the changed heart of Ebenezer Scrooge and his spreading love.

How much more should the truth of God’s love for us (crib, Cross, Church) change our hearts and inspire us to spread Christian love this Advent and Christmastide?

 

We have been blessed even beyond John the Baptist. We, the “least in the kingdom of heaven,” are greater than he! John knew the crib, but we know the love of God in the Cross and in the Church.

On Gaudete Sunday we should be confident to rejoice, knowing God’s love for us, trusting that He can change our hearts to be ever more like His. 

-Fr. Don Saunders, SJ

An Advent prayer

 

An Advent prayer of joy

Lord, we are filled with joy because of You. We sing praises to Your Name, O Most High! We rejoice because of You, and we want to say it again! Rejoice! We know You are near; Emmanuel is coming! 

This Advent season, remind us of the joy we have as we anticipate Your arrival a second time, but also that You are with us, in our presence here and now.

God, we long to always have the joy that comes only from You in our lives - not just happiness that is temporary. We know that joy is deeper and given to us only through your Holy Spirit.

We sing with joy to You as Mary did after learning of her holy pregnancy:

Our souls are ecstatic, overflowing with praises to You, God!
Our spirits burst with joy over our life-giving God! O Mighty One, You have worked a mighty miracle for us; Holy is Your name! Mercy kisses all who revere You, from one generation to the next.

We also sing joy to the world because You have come! Let earth receive her king! Let each of our hearts prepare room for You, as heaven and nature sing.

In wonder and joy, we watch the events of your birth, and with awe we perceive your cross and your crown from afar. Maranatha: come, Lord Jesus. Sustain us, uphold us, redeem us.

Repeating the sounding joy,

Amen.

- Beth Hildebrand

More thoughts on the Immaculate Conception

 

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.   In 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception:   The Most Holy Virgin Mary was, in the very first moment of her conception, by a unique gift of grace and privilege of Almighty God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ the Redeemer of mankind, preserved free from all stain of original sin. (Ineffabilis Deus, Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius IX on the Immaculate Conception)   Thus, the Church teaches that the Blessed Mother was redeemed by her Son, just as we are, but by a Divine anticipation of the merits of the Word-made-flesh. Like Eve before her, she was not subject to the Fall and thus to the prince of this world. However, unlike Eve, she would never surrender that freedom which God’s grace provided her.

We encourage you to read our special page dedicated to the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, where we answer questions such as: How do we know Mary was immaculately conceived? Is the Immaculate Conception in the Bible? Why did God choose Mary? How are the Immaculate Conception, Lourdes, and St. Bernadette related? On the page, we also offer a free eBook, The Immaculate Conception Novena, to help you reflect more deeply on the Blessed Virgin Mary’s obedient heart to God’s Will and her unique role as Mother of our Savior.  We pray this page and eBook will help you grow in devotion to our Blessed Mother, who always points us to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.    In Christ,   Your EWTN Family

Thoughts on the Immaculate Conception

 

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Luke 1:26–38

Friends, today we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Church Fathers consistently referred to Mary as the New Eve, which is to say, the one who reversed the momentum started by the mother of the human race. The Ave of the angel was seen as the reversal of Eva. While Eve grasped at divinity, Mary said, “May it be done to me.” Here’s the liberating paradox: Passivity before objective values is precisely what makes life wonderful. Allowing oneself to be invaded and rearranged by objective value is what makes life worth living. And this applies unsurpassably to our relationship with God. The message that your life is not about you does indeed crush the false self that would bend the whole world to its purposes, but it sets free the true self. The immaculate conception itself is concealed in the privacy of salvation history, but the effects of it are on clear display in this Gospel. In the presence of the supreme value, we ought to say, along with Mary, “May it be done to me!” Bishop Robert Barron