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Hallo again to all.
Gaudete in Domino semper : iterum dico gaudete. Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus : Dominus prope est. Nihil solliciti sitis : sed in omni oratione, et obsecratione, cum gratiarum actione petitiones vestræ innotescant apud Deum. Et pax Dei, quæ exuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra, et intelligentias vestras in Christo Jesu.† Though most noticeable as one of the two times in the church year rose-coloured vestments are used, it is a break in an otherwise solemn season of preparation and waiting and allows for rejoicing in this often bleak time of year. The lighting of the rose candle this week pauses and softens some of our anxieties. It is somehow calming and satisfying. Much has been made in the last few years of the prevalence of wishes for a 'Happy Holidays' rather than for a 'Happy Christmas'. In the present global, multicultural, multiethnic world, screams of the 'Political Correctness Police' ruining 'this clearly Christian season for all of us' seem to be come with increasing frequency. Media pundits add it to their complaints about the so-called 'War on Christmas.' Instead, we find ourselves comforted by the wish for a Happy Holiday. It is Advent, a holy time of year. It is not yet Christmas (we write this, in fact, on the last day of Chanukah). The reminder of a Happy Holiday or a Seasons Greetings is a reminder of the sacredness of this entire season rather than just the proximity of the day to Christmas. Gaudete Sunday, with its rose vestments and joyful sounds, draws us out of the sprint and back into Advent. There will be plenty of time to wish a Happy Christmas during its own twelve-day feast.
So we rejoice along with the whole church: Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel, nascetur pro te Israel. Blessed Advent to you. See you next week, when it will still be Advent. |
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