“Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice! Indeed, the Lord is near.” This is the prayer of the entrance antiphon from today’s Mass.
The name of the third Sunday of Advent, “Gaudete Sunday”, is taken from that antiphon - the word, “Gaudete” is Latin for “Rejoice.” And Gaudete Sunday is a Church’s subtle reminder that Advent is supposed to include a certain “darkness” quality.
Many of you are likely preparing and sending out Christmas cards at this time. But have you ever thought of sending out an “Advent card”? If not, I have proposed an initial design to Hallmark using a line from St. John the Baptist in our Sunday Gospel. On the outside of card it would quote him, “You brood of vipers!” and maybe it could have a cartoon picture of vipers on it.
First, much thanksgiving is in order. Personally, many thanks to all who wished me well and prayed for my running of the New York Marathon on November 6th! The school kids made me a medal of 26 medals each sponsored by a class with prayers prayed for me—how awesome is that! So, my results were mixed. I did finish the marathon, all 26.2 miles, in a total time of 5 hours and 49 seconds which works out to an overall pace of 11:29/mile. So finishing was awesome, and the crowd support in New York was beyond incredible.
