Is 61:1-2, 10-11
1Thes 5:16-24
Jn 1:6-8, 19-28
Gaudete in Domino semper,
iterum dice gaudete.
Dominus enim prope est.
“Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I say rejoice!
The Lord is near.”
Gaudete, the first word of the entrance antiphon for the 3rd Sunday of Advent, means “rejoice” and gives the 3rd Sunday of Advent its traditional name: Gaudete Sunday. Now that Advent is half over. we begin to rejoice because in the words of the antiphon: Dominus enim prope est: “The Lord is near.” The Lord is very near.
Only one more Sunday stands between us and the great feast of the Nativity of the Lord; the feast on which we recall and celebrate that Jesus was born into this world, the same world in which we now live and breathe. study and work, rejoice and mourn. We celebrate because Jesus, fully divine and fully human, like us in all things but sin, walked and worked on this same planet. We rejoice because through his incarnation and birth, His life, passion, and death, His resurrection and ascension to the Father, He brought us forgiveness of sins, and opened the gates to life everlasting. The readings highlight the sense of rejoicing.
From the first:
I rejoice heartily in the Lord,
in my God is the joy of my soul
for he has clothed me with the robe of salvation
The responsorial is from Luke’s Gospel
My soul
proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for He has looked with favor on his lowly servant
We have been favored; we have been blessed by Christ coming into the world to redeem us from our sins. The only possible response to such blessing is to heed Paul’s advice: “Rejoice always.” “Pray without ceasing.” “In all circumstances give thanks.”
Our rejoicing will increase gradually over the coming days until the Gloria in excelsis Deo of Christmas explodes throughout the universe. Beginning today at evening prayer or vespers the Church’s anticipatory joy moves to another level as priests, monks, nuns, and legions of lay people who pray the Divine Office
will chant or recite the first of the seven ancient “O Antiphons” that introduce and conclude the Magnificat, Mary’s exquisite prayer of praise and thanksgiving that begins.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
My spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked with favor on his lowly servant
The antiphons are called the “O” antiphons because each one begins with the word “O” followed by a title for the Messiah. Each refers to Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah. This evening we will say:
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti . . .
“O Wisdom, O holy Word of God.
You govern all creation with strong yet tender care.
Come and show your people the way to salvation.”
On December 23 we will chant or recite:
“O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver,
desire of the nations,
Savior of all people, come and set us free,
Lord our God.”
Latin is crucial to understanding the O Antiphons, their reason for being, and the poetic artistry behind them.
Taken together they form a teaching on the history of salvation in Christ. that refers to the liturgical texts of Christmas Day. They prepare us for the great feast to come. They also contain a secret message in the form of an anagram. The titles for He Who is to Come are:
O Sapientia O Wisdom
O Adonai O Mighty Lord
O Radix Jesse O Root of Jesse
O Clavis David O Key of David
O Oriens O Dawn of the East
O Rex Gentium O King of the Nations
O Emmanuel O Emmanuel
The secret message appears in Latin. When the titles are arranged vertically
from first to last and the letter following the “O” is read from bottom to top we find the Latin anagram: Ero Cras
Tomorrow I will be.
Tomorrow I will be there.
Tomorrow I will come.
The Messiah was foretold by the prophets. He was announced by John the Baptist who is the bridge between the Old and New Testaments. John was a herald, the voice crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord;” He was the one who had to decrease as Jesus increased.
The time of waiting is ending. Very soon, purple vestments will be replaced by white.
O Come Emmanuel will be replaced by O Come All Ye Faithful.
Anxious waiting will be replaced by unfettered joy.
Gaudete in Domino semper,
iterum dice gaudete.
Dominus enim prope est.
“Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I say rejoice!
The Lord is near.”
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Stained glass is a particular favorite topic of photos. These are from several places in the world from Boston to Slovenia.
Jesuit Chapel in Loyola Spain 
Church of St. Georges in Lyon, France 
A vent window in a confessional at St. Ignatius Church in Boston. Much smaller than it looks. .jpg)
Private Mass chapel at the Charterhouse in Pleterje, Slovenia. 
One of five stained glass windows depicting scenes from the life of the Blessed Mother in the chapel in St. Mary's Hall Jesuit Residence at Boston College.
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