Dear Parishioners of St. James:
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Today is called Gaudete Sunday – taken from the first word in the entrance antiphon for Holy Mass on the Third Sunday of Advent. St. Paul commands us to “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near” (1 Phil. 4: 4-5). Our reasons for rejoicing are primarily twofold: Jesus Christ our Lord is among us in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Tabernacle, and our Lord’s Second Coming in glory is also nearer in time than ever before as we await the new heaven and the new earth where righteousness will dwell (cf. 2 Pt. 3:13).
We should praise God with Our Lady today and always as we echo her hymn quoted in today’s psalm: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior” (Lk. 1: 46). Praise is fitting (even required!) for a believer in Jesus Christ since His presence brings eternal life. What need we fear if Jesus is with us? What sin cannot be forgiven in the Sacrament which Our Lord Himself instituted? What trouble cannot be assuaged by the One who loves us and Who is come and will come again?! Our life as baptized Catholics is indeed a “Year of favor from the Lord” (Is. 61:2). We must, then, walk blamelessly giving thanks in all circumstances (cf. 1 Thes. 5:23).
Rejoice, then, brothers and sisters, because the Lord is near. One day, with certain hope, we will see Him face to face and become like Him for we shall see Him as He is (1 Jn. 3:2). Until then, rejoice! We are all another day closer to the eternal banquet of Heaven where rejoicing never ends.
God bless you,
Fr. Geary
Saint James Catholic Church 