Dear Friends,

This weekend we celebrate Gaudete Sunday – which means, “Rejoice”. We take a step back from the penitential character of Advent and remind ourselves of how close our Lord’s arrival is. We rejoice in seeing the “light at the end of the tunnel”, so to speak, and take comfort in the great hope that the arrival of the Messiah gives us. We rejoice because all of the sufferings and anticipation of the Israelites – whom we are imitating during Advent – will soon receive their final conclusion when the Lord comes to give them, and all of us, true freedom from slavery to sin and death.

We also should be contemplating that second theme of Advent – our Lord’s Second Coming – and be filled with joy at the prospect of heavenly bliss and beatitude, which is the definitive fulfillment of our lives. How often do we think about, contemplate, meditate on heaven and the joys that await us there? How often do we consider the ineffable joy that will fill us when we finally see our Lord and God face to face, no longer by Faith, but by true sight. May all of us think of this often!

In Christ,

Fr Marotti