This Sunday is called Gaudete Sunday, marking the third Sunday of Advent, and we are invited into a season of joyful anticipation and reflection. It is about developing a life rooted in faith. We should rejoice always, pray continuously, and express gratitude in all circumstances. On this Gaudete Sunday, the gospel invites us to reflect on something unique as the foundation of the source of our Joy: Sharing what we have as a source of God’s justice for the poor. Today, the third Sunday of Advent, let us remind ourselves that the true sense of joy is sharing what we can with those in need.

Dear Parish Family,

Rejoice Gaudete Sunday This third Sunday of Advent we turn the corner toward the coming of Christmas. Our glimmer of hope has pierced the darkness, and we are filled with JOY. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life, we forget that it is in the simplest moments that we become replenished and our hope is restored.

All the readings at Mass during Advent remind us that this season is a time intended for spiritual preparation. It’s tempting to let the busyness of December distract us from the most important purpose of Advent: our personal spiritual growth. In our responsorial Psalm this Sunday, we proclaim: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy!” Do you actually feel joyful when you mouth these words? It takes faith to experience joy in the midst of hardships. Faith grows from knowing that the Lord does great things for us because of his mercy — not because we have earned it, as we’ll never be good enough. Repenting from our sins opens us to become aware of this mercy. Therefore, Saint John the Baptizer is proclaiming to us today: “Prepare the way of the Lord!” We all have depressing or discouraging times of hardship that needs to get filled with the joy of the Lord.

Dear Parish Family,

The Divine Remedy is Love! ❤️❤️

The holy season of Advent in meaning is a combination of understandings that celebrate the reality of the First Advent the Nativity of the Lord, and the Second Advent anticipating the Second Coming.

The 1st Sunday of Advent is the beginning of the new liturgical year. This season prepares us for the coming of Jesus at Christmas and at the end of time. In today’s readings, the Lord promises to fulfill His covenant with Israel and Judah, raising a righteous leader from David’s line. Judah and Jerusalem will live in safety and be called “The Lord is our justice.” As we lift our soul to the Lord, we seek His guidance and truth. We know that the Lord is good, and that He guides the humble and shows His faithful love to those who keep His covenant. We hear about God’s promise to bring justice and righteousness. This reminds us to trust in God’s plans. We see God’s faithfulness in fulfilling promises and we learn to wait with faith and patience. Like Paul we should pray for love to increase in our hearts to live in ways that please God. We are encouraged during Advent to prepare our hearts and lives for Jesus’ coming and to have hope, love, and awareness, as we grow closer to Him. This week’s Gospel speaks about alarming signs, but believers should find hope in these events.

Dear Parish Family,

First Sunday of Advent

The Advent Season is a time of rebirth in our faith as we return to the spiritual womb, where we joyfully anticipate our coming forth. It is here that we sit a while in darkness, only to relish in the return of the light. These darkest days of the year, are symbolic of our journey within, to a place of joy and solitude. Holy solitude is a welcoming place, because it is a time to be alone in the Lord, in a place of sacred silence. It is in the darkness of the womb, that we become strengthened and nourished, turning with every seasonal shift as the Winter Solstice unfolds keeping rhythm and time in step with Emmanuel God with us. The heart of the Advent message is that though we are enveloped in darkness, we are drawn to God’s wonderful light, and that his light is an awakened encounter, causing us to contemplate this holy anticipation of his coming into the world 2000 years ago, and his return in glory. Stay vigilant, prepare yourself, pay attention for we know not the hour. We crave the light more than ever, as we desire to live in truth, and how in the expectation of his coming, we ask ourselves, will we be ready?