Gaudete Sunday! – Rejoice!

Zephaniah 3:14-18a, Psalm [Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6], Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 3:10-18

  He has freed you. + Thank Him.

If you have ever thought that God has let you down, or that what you are hoping for is too big to obtain, Gaudete Sunday is for you. The Word of God who speaks in today’s Sacred Scriptures explains this.

We can read Zephaniah (Ch. 3) one more time, and then again. He has freed you! The Old Testament writings predict their fulfilment in the New Testament. How has God “removed the judgment against you” as this reading proclaims? Like the Hebrews, by the redemption that is gained for us by Christ Jesus, we are freed from our enemies, our sins, and are told “you have no further misfortune to fear.” And He is happy that He freed you. “He will sing joyfully because of you.”

Last week we sang joyfully of our Blessed Mother, whose Immaculate Conception we celebrated. Mary is the greatest example of God applying his grace ahead of time in order to sanctify her. Isaiah 12 echoes this good news, “God indeed is my savior,” and he also gives us a wonderful response, “I am confident and unafraid.”

Now, how do we respond? We thank Him! “”Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim His name.”

Ask and don’t worry. + Relax your grasp.

What is the next step after thanksgiving? It can be “to ask again”. God does not tire of helping His children. He filled our universe with treasures for us and we have so many desires and needs, especially in this season of the Gift. “…in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God (Phil 4).”

Another of Saint Paul’s exhortations is harder to achieve in our age of stress, “Rejoice!… Have no anxiety at all….” But our bountiful God created Christmas, the source of our joy! We just have to ask. A story told by a priest began with anxiety: A hard-working, traveling father agonized over his situation because his wife and young children needed more of his time at home. A wise priest’s advice to offer a Mass for this intention had great results. His boss called him in on the same day that he had attended the Mass. Some unscrupulous employees had been terminated and he received new responsibilities for the firm, along with the elimination of travel requirements and a big pay raise!

Let us also ask our Eucharistic Lord at Mass for whatever is needed! In this third year of the National Eucharistic Revival, we have not exhausted the Lord’s mercies. Trust is a key that opens the most tender heart of God.

Jesus’ cousin, St. John the Baptist, also asked the crowds along the Jordan River to trust (Luke Ch. 3). He directed people of all walks of life to be satisfied with what they had and to share it. In other words, they needed to loosen their grasp on the things of this world so that they could use those same goods to improve the lives of others.

Let go and God will fill you. To covet something closes up the heart, like a child’s clenched hand in a candy jar if she grabs too many sweets. Unless she lets go, she is stuck! She can’t move on. What are the sweet things in my life that distract me from my one priority? What do I have to do now to let go?

It takes courage. Have no anxiety. Mary will help you. Like Our Lady of Guadalupe told the worried Juan Diego: “Am I not here who am your mother? Is there anything else you need?”

As we near Christmas and reflect on how the empty stable of Bethlehem was filled by the Light of the World, let us help each other not to be afraid of creating an empty space that the Divine Infant can fill.

Rejoice!