Third Week of Advent – Rejoice!

by Beth & Kristofer | 2020 TWMWU, Help, This Week's Mass Warm-Up!

First Reading

Reading 1

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.

Responsorial Psalm

LK 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54.

R. (Is 61:10b) My soul rejoices in my God.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
R. My soul rejoices in my God.
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
R. My soul rejoices in my God.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
R. My soul rejoices in my God.

Second Reading

Reading 2

1 THES 5:16-24

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.

May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.

Gospel Reading

Alleluia

IS 61:1 (cited in LK 4:18)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

JN 1:6-8, 19-28

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.

And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

Catechesis At Home –“Rejoice!”

Third Week of Advent – Year B

“God is the joy of my soul!” (Isaiah 61:10)

“My soul rejoices in God my savior!” (Luke 1:47)

“Rejoice always!” (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

This is Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is a Latin word meaning “rejoice” and it comes from the Entrance Antiphon for the Mass of the Third Sunday of Advent:

Gaudete in Domino simper: iterum dico, gaudete. Dominus enimprope est.
(English: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.[Philippians 4:4-5])

For a very thorough catechesis on what Gaudete Sunday is and its historical origins and practices, including the use of the rose color, go to the Catholic Encyclopedia entry for Gaudete Sunday at New Advent.

Gaudete Sunday is a mini-celebration midway through the preparatory season of Advent. The readings all celebrate the magnificence of God and His promises of the New Covenant fulfilled by His Son Jesus Christ. We rejoice in the coming of the Savior, we rejoice in the Almighty Presence, we rejoice in His care for us, we rejoice in His faithfulness.

Explore:This week we practice the fruit of Joy, seek to recognize Joy all around us, and celebrate our reason for Joy.

“God is the joy of my soul!” (Isaiah 61:10)

Isaiah is a prophetic book revealing Jesus to Israel long before Jesus was born. How wonderful it must have felt to know the salvation of The World was coming, having it revealed to him so he could write it down and share it with the world. What a Joy-filled heart Isaiah must have had, knowing he had been given such intimate attention by God.

That is the same attention Jesus gives us: Intimate, personal, promising and unwavering. Let us recognize the attention Jesus shows us. We should offer Him the praise and thanksgiving He deserves for the ultimate gift He offers – our eternal salvation! Woohoo! And in that praise and thanksgiving, let us find the Joy He desires for us. Jesus, you are the Joy of my soul!

“Rejoice always!” (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

St. Paul tells us, though his letter to the Thessalonians, to pray without ceasing and give thanks to God in all circumstances. It is difficult to thank God when things are not going well for us, or when we do not understand everything that is happening. Paul knows that firsthand. He had to convince everybody that he had changed and he had to do this because he had met Jesus on the road to Damascus, something he could not deny or pass off as some hallucination. He suffered – persecution from Jews who saw him as a traitor and Christians who knew him as their nemesis; shipwrecks, prison, estrangement, and ultimately execution. These could only have been endured if he were rejoicing always, because of that intimate Joy Isaiah speaks of – Joy in his soul!

Jesus was intimately involved in Paul’s conversion and life, as he is in ours. We meet Jesus along the road of our life, and if we walk with Him that intimacy and personal relationship grows – Joy becomes a part of our every day as we recognize Him beside us!

“My soul rejoices in God my savior!” (Luke 1:47)

In this Psalm response this week from Luke, we sing with Mary the amazing feats of the Lord in our own lives.

Think of Mary’s circumstances surrounding her pregnancy and the birth of Jesus. It was not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, she rejoices and praises God in thanksgiving for the attention He has given to her. Wow!

The response we say in Mass with her comes from Mary’s prayer in Luke, when she is greeted by her cousin, Elizabeth, just after John the Baptist leaps for Joy in Elizabeth’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice. This prayer is known as the Magnificat, or the Canticle of Mary:

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid; for behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; Because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and Holy is His Name; And His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him. He has shown might with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has given help to Israel, His servant, mindful of His mercy – Even as He spoke to our father – to Abraham and to his posterity forever. (Luke 1:46-55)

The excitement and Joy in Mary’s words are almost audible! Imagine her running up to Elizabeth and exclaiming all of this. And what is more intimate than to have Jesus inside you – The Lord God is Joy itself, and He has chosen you and me, just as He chose Mary, to be the way the world gets to know Him. Woohoo!

“Holy is His Name” by John Michael Talbot is a lovely hymn putting the words of the Magnificat to music. This is a wonderful way to learn the words of The Magnificat, use the slow tempo to feel the love and awe and honor and intimate Joy that the music and words impart.

In her lowliness, Mary was able to give her whole self to the Lord- every part of her mind, body, and spirit to nurture Him and share Him with the world. Through the gifts of salvation and grace, God made it possible for her to do this.

He makes it possible for us, too. We just need to accept and use the gift He has already given us. He doesn’t need another womb – He just needs a room in our heart – preferably the whole heart!

John the Baptist points us to Christ even in his own mother’s tummy before he is born – he tells us that Jesus is among us, and unlike Elizabeth, we do not recognize Him (John 1:26).

Let us look again and recognize Jesus Christ in our midst. Look again and again and again until we see Him – He is right here among us! Let us remind ourselves every day with the simple prayer of St. Francis de Sales: “Jesus, look down upon me and let me see you beside me.”

How do we recognize God’s attention to us?

Activity:

Who do you know who brings God’s Joy to your life? Reach out to them this week via phone, email, snail mail, video chat or (if possible!) in person and tell them. Thank God especially for them and their witness to His goodness.

Do you have a particular decoration or recipe or other “holiday” item that brings you Joy? Why does it?

If we look hard enough, we find this item gives us Joy because of the attention it draws to a particular person, memory, or experience. And that person or experience, because it is good, witnesses to God, because He is the author of all goodness, faithfulness, truth, and beauty.

When we appreciate these things for what they do to point us back to God, it is good and right to include them in our homes and lives. That is why it is so important for Christians to have decorations, religious art, icons, crucifixes, and statues in our churches and homes. All of these things remind us of God’s grace and mercy. And when we are reminded of His grace and mercy, and truly dwell upon it, the only response is Joy!

Let us look forward to the coming of the Lord! At Christmas we remember His birth and we can especially look forward to His Second Coming as we take heart in St. Paul’s prayer from the second reading today:

“May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Now that we know about Joy and why it makes so much sense to have it, here is the hymn we all wait to hear at Christmas. Turn it up!

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

In the car, on your phone, computer or tablet, or on your Alexa-enabled device, join Kristofer and Beth as they talk about Joy in Holy Owned and Operated’s latest podcast episode of On the Road to Perfection. To listen on your Alexa device, including your phone app, just say, “Alexa, open MyCast and search for On The Road To Perfection.”

This is a great primer or follow-up to This Week’s Free Thing. Get the conversation going, or keep it going.

Episode synopsis: JOY! Woohoo! We start off with a short rendition of that favorite kids’ Bible school song and then dive right in. Do you have Joy? You know it is different than happiness, right? Well, let’s talk about that and find out how, why, and where you have joy. It’s closer than you think!

Click here for the printable PDF version of This Week’s Free Thing! (With bonus content!)