"Gaudete in Domino semper - Rejoice in the Lord always" (Philippians 4:4)
Today the Church celebrates "Gaudete” Sunday, the Sunday of Rejoicing. The color of our vestments has changed - the dark purple vestments were traded for rose ones. It is a visual symbol that Christmas is closer. Just as the dark night sky begins to glow with light and the color of our vestments goes from dark to light, so should our hearts experience the change of color.
For the first weeks of Advent, we have meditated on our need for God, our repentance, sinfulness, our helplessness in anticipation for the upcoming Messiah. Today we switched gears. Jesus takes the center stage and begins His public ministry as John the Baptist fades into the background. Jesus reminded us that at the beginning of His ministry He met the blind to give them sight; the poor to give them hope; the lame to give them strength.
He has begun the same work in us and is eager to continue it. We are blinded by ignorance and selfishness, and He offers us light in the teachings of His Church. We are poor in virtue, and He fills us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We are lame, unable to pray as we should, to bear witness as we should, to love as we should, and He heals and strengthens us by nourishing us with His very self in the Eucharist. Jesus has a dream for each one of our lives, and He is coming to make that dream come true.
And this is what should fill us and bring us joy – both the ongoing work of Christ in our lives, but even more importantly at this time, His upcoming birth at Christmas. This is the joy of Advent and joy of our daily life – we are days away from Christmas. This reality ought to fill us with happiness and joy and should be the essentials to our Christian way of life because our happiness is not an ordinary one, but the happiness of Christ, who Himself is our primary source of joy. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say: “Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” We need to be joyfully present in order to relate and to embrace one another with “the net of love.” In order to love we are called to action. To respond to this action gives us joy – the purest appreciation of the other in ourselves.
“It becomes evident that man has need of a hope that goes further. It becomes clear that only something infinite will suffice for him, something that will always be more than he can ever attain... we need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day. But these are not enough without the great hope, which must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God, who encompasses the whole of reality and who can bestow upon us what we, by ourselves, cannot attain.” (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, #30-31)
A month after the 2022 St. Luke Annual Festival and careful calculations, I am proud to share with our parish community that the festival brought a profit of over $111,000.00!!! This is our unmatched record up to date and an incredible, consistent growth over the past several years. Once again I offer most profound words of appreciation and gratitude to the leadership team of the festival and to everyone who supported the festival and its success. This is just another way how we proclaim the Good News of Jesus to the Middleburg community and beyond. We should be very grateful for the gifts we share as parishioners of St. Luke!!!!
As we continue on our journey of Advent, may the upcoming days of our Parish Mission and Penance Services this week enrich our preparation for Christmas as we open even wider the doors of our hearts with joy and love to experience the presence of God and one another in our lives.