I greet you on this Third Sunday of Advent, praying that the Lord will overwhelm you with joy and gladness, and that sorrow and sighing will flee away, as we hear in Isaiah 35:10 from today’s First Reading.
This Sunday is also known as Gaudete Sunday. The Latin word gaudete is the first word of today’s Entrance Antiphon at Holy Mass, and the day has taken its name from it. The Entrance Antiphon is a verse chosen by the Church to begin the liturgy. We often sing a hymn instead, but if no hymn is sung, the antiphon is chanted during the procession. Today’s antiphon comes from Philippians 4:4–5:
“Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again: Rejoice!
The Lord is near.”
In Latin:
Gaudete in Domino semper;
iterum dico, gaudete.
Dominus enim prope est.
This is why today is called Gaudete Sunday—the Sunday of rejoicing.
Why is this Sunday different from the others in Advent? Advent, like Lent, is a season of preparation. Advent prepares us for the great feast of Christmas, when we celebrate Christ’s first coming. Preparation seasons are usually marked by penance, which is not easy. Penance means looking deeply into us, recognizing selfishness and sin, and bringing it before the Lord in confession. It is heavy work, but necessary as we prepare for the great feast ahead.
Yet today, Gaudete Sunday, the Church tells us: pause for a moment. Take a break. Step aside from the road and catch your breath. Rest from the intensity of penance and preparation. After this pause, you will be stronger and better able to face the challenges of the season. This rhythm is natural in life—we take breaks at school, we rest in the shade after working in the sun, we go on holiday or take leave, we clear our minds before returning to a meeting. In the same way, the Church gives us this Sunday of joy in the middle of Advent.
The name of this Sunday points us to joy. But what kind of joy? St. Augustine, preaching on Philippians 4:4–5, said:
“Rejoice always in the Lord—not in the world, not in the flesh, not in wine or food, but always in the Lord.”
True joy is not shallow pleasure, but joy in Christ.
St. John Chrysostom added:
“The apostle does not say simply ‘rejoice,’ but ‘rejoice always’—even in trials and temptations.”
This reminds us of Psalm 84:7, which prays that even in the valley of tears, God’s people make it a place of springs. True joy transforms even hardship.
So, I ask myself, as I close: what gives me the deepest joy? Is it something worth seeking, planning, and preparing for? Does it last, or is it only momentary? Does it endure beyond this life, into eternity?
Our joy is in the Lord and in His works, in the Child who came into the world to renew creation. This joy is not about entertainment or pleasure. It is profound, rooted in faith and hope. In rejoicing, we follow in the footsteps of Mary, who said:
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.
Amen.