Gaudete!

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Advent, gaudete, joy, Kimberly Hope Belcher, rejoice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I am always grateful for my four years of Latin class in high school with Sister Thomas Aquinas. Today, perhaps more than any other, I can hear myself and my comrades greet her as she sweeps into the classroom hoping for us all to jump out of our seats to respond to her greeting of: “Gaudete!” with gusto: “Salve, Soror. Gratias tibi ago!*” She was never disappointed because she was the reason for our joy. Her deep love of learning and of the joy she engendered in us from deep within her was the impetus for our own. This feeling of remembrance is akin to the sensation of what I read this morning entitled Joy Creeping In,** a description that I think apropos of what I am trying to convey today about Advent. Listen and ponder, please.

The joy proper to Advent is a clear-eyed joy. Advent calls us to look directly at the world’s brokenness, to see the plight of the hungry, the poor and the prisoner, and to cry out for the coming of the day of justice and salvation. Listening to the season and the Scriptures (as we have done for the last two weeks), we feel joy creeping in. As we become aware of what the world is not, of what the world ought to be, we begin to rejoice in our knowledge of God: “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.“

*”Thanks be to God!”

**Kimberly Hope Belcher, Give Us This Day, Liturgical Press, p.136

Gaude! Gaudete!

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gaudete, Incarnation, joy, Latin, rejoice, sing for joy, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Zephaniah

I often think of my high school Latin teacher. We – all eight of us – persevered through four years of Latin because of Sister Thomas Aquinas. We not only learned a great deal of Latin but were treated to at least 45 minutes each school day of rejoicing in the love of learning and sharing community. We were confident not only of the love Sister Thomas had for her subject but also the joy she took in us. And it was a great lesson in reciprocal feeding. We loved her and the language too.

Today is Gaudete Sunday in Christendom. One can hardly get through the lectionary readings without a feeling of joy and confidence entering our inner space at the command to rejoice (Gaudete!). Zephaniah, a seldom heard from voice in the Hebrew Scriptures, leads off with the call to rejoice and be glad with all your heart because God will rejoice over you with gladness and renew you in his love – even singing for joy because of you.  But it doesn’t stop there.  Paul tells the Philippians and us this morning to rejoice in the Lord always and have no anxiety at all because that will bring us the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

I listened this morning to a vibrant young woman speak about what she called “the rejoice choice”* – choosing a way to be that is not tied to outcome or circumstance but rather to a deep conviction of God’s presence. What a great message for this Sunday when the celebration of the Incarnation is so near. Let us all remain in this stance of expectancy and rejoice!

*Catholic Women Preach – Elyse Galloway

O Wisdom, Come!

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Advent, gaudete, Jesus, Magnificat, O Antiphons, path of knowledge, rejoice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom

Today begins the final countdown to our celebration of the Incarnation of Jesus at Christmas. It is, I think, as significant as it is unusual that today is both Gaudete Sunday – the call to Rejoice! – as well as the day when we begin to hear the O Antiphons, those short chants sung as refrains, at vespers, the evening prayer of the Church.

Our joy at this moment in Advent rises up because we recognize that the birth of Jesus is near. It is difficult sometimes to consider this as more than a commemoration like a birthday party. If we are able to dig deeply into our hearts seeking the transformation that we long for in Christ, Christmas will not be just a day but will be rooted in new ways in the joy of our faith. We will make a habit of calling on the wisdom that is a gift freely given if only we ask. And that is the call of this first day of the O Antiphons. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explain it well to us today (usccb.org):

The Roman Church has been singing the “O” Antiphons since at least the eighth century. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23. They are magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. The repeated use of the imperative “Come!” embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah.

Thus today we pray, calling on the Christ to quickly come: O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge!

 

 

 

 

 

Gaudete!

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Advent, attentive, be happy, celebrate, gaudete, John the Baptist, Latin, Luke, prepare, rejoice, The Lord is near, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In Luke’s gospel there is a moment (or some unspecified period of time) when people thought John the Baptist might be the Messiah for whom they had been longing. He was a strong preacher whose call of “Repent!” was gaining traction. This morning’s gospel shows how exacting John’s message was and how individualized to each group of people. Three times in response to his rather stark (some would say withering) comments to listeners whom he had just called a “brood of vipers” he was asked: What should we do? To the crowds he said, Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none and whoever has food should do likewise. To the tax collectors he said, Stop collecting more than is prescribed. And finally, when the soldiers asked the same question, he said, Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages. (LK 3:10-18) If taken literally – which I would wager was John’s intent – those would have been tall orders for the people of his day. I had a new respect for John this morning because he saw each group as needing a specific change of heart and his message was appropriate to each group who was listening.

Today is Gaudete Sunday, one of those days in the liturgical year when I am grateful for Sister Thomas Aquinas, my high school Latin teacher. Because of her, I know that gaudete is the plural imperative of the verb to rejoice. We are half-way through the waiting period of Advent (another Latin term meaning to come toward). So if I were asked this morning, “What should we do?” I would respond to everyone that we should Be happy! Celebrate! Rejoice! because the Lord is near to bursting forth once again in the fullness of hope in our hearts. But each of us must determine how that rejoicing will help us prepare. Do we need to be attentive to a relationship or might we find a service organization that needs our help? Maybe our prayer life needs more of our time in order to bring us to the realization of a deeper happiness. Whatever the way to express our anticipation of the Christ event so that Christmas will see us full of celebratory joy, today is the day to consider the possibilities. So Gaudete, everyone! The Lord is near indeed.

Rejoice!

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faithful, gaudete, happy, holy, Isaiah, John the Baptist, new birth, Paul, pray, promises fulfilled, rejoice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thessalonians

Today is Gaudete Sunday (Latin for Rejoice). We’re called to be happy because the coming of the Lord is near and the call resounds in all the readings for today – from Isaiah to John the Baptist. As is often the case, Paul is among the messengers urging faithfulness with an enthusiasm that is hard to ignore and then at the end reassuring his listeners that God will surely fulfill all promises. I can almost see him gesticulating emphatically in the town square of Thessaloniki to those he is trying to convince. My impression is that it would be hard to ignore the man or the message. Here is the crux of it:

Brothers and sisters, 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…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 accomplish it! (1 Thess 5: 16-24)

So then, let us rejoice, as we count the days toward new birth!