By Fr. Roy Cimagala *
THAT’S what the main theme of the 3rd Sunday of Advent
reminds us of. There is joy in this season of Advent even as we
prepare ourselves for the birth of Christ with practices of penance
that are proper to this season.
The 3rd Sunday of Advent is also called the “Gaudete”
Sunday. The expression comes from the entrance antiphon of the Mass
that cites some words of St. Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again
I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” (Phil 4,4)
It’s important that we don’t lose sight of our need for joy
even as we go through the exercise of penance which is what is called
for in this season of Advent. And that’s because, as St. Paul said,
the Lord is near. This piece of news should gladden our heart even as
we intensify our penitential acts to prepare ourselves properly to
receive him.
This Good News, which with faith we can consider as already
done, should remind us of the bigger picture about ourselves. We come
from God and not just from our parents. We are meant to be with God in
our definitive state of life in eternity. Our life here on earth is
simply a training and testing ground to see if what God wants us to be
is also what we want to be.
Joy is the ideal condition for us to be in while we are here
on earth. Yes, even when we encounter difficulties and all the
negative things in life, we can and should try to live in joy, but
understanding it as a joy in and with Christ. Especially in these
pandemic times, we should avoid feeling sad, empty, helpless, or
feeling overwhelmed.
This was what Christ promised to give us if we are united to
him, like a branch to the vine. “If you keep my commands, you will
remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain
in his love,” he said. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in
you and that your joy may be complete.” (Jn 15,10-11)
With these words, we are clearly told where our true and
complete joy will come from. It’s from Christ, from God, and not just
from some earthly and temporal source. It’s a joy that we can always
have in any season or weather, fair or foul. It’s a joy that
transcends whatever earthly and temporal condition we may be in.
Whether we are up or down, successful or defeated and lost, we can
still have that joy.
We need to work out our true union with Christ to have this
kind of joy. To be sure, Christ is already with us. We should just be
with him. And it’s not difficult to be with Christ, because he is
already with us always. Being the pattern of our humanity, the savior
of our damaged humanity, he cannot be absent from us. It’s rather us
who can dare to ignore and resist him. We have to be wary of that
tendency and do something about it.
For this, we really have to activate our faith that, if
lived well, can always give us hope, in spite of the tragedies that we
can encounter in life. Faith lived well also gives us the ability to
love everybody, whatever the conditions may be. A faith-based love
makes everything beautiful and lovable, even if by worldly standards
things are bad and ugly. This is what makes us live in joy despite
whatever!
* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
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