Gaudete Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent. The term is derived from the Latin opening words of the introit antiphon, “Rejoice (Gaudete) in the Lord always.” It is a time to express the joy of anticipation at the approach of the Christmas celebration.
In his homily delivered at his weekly Sunday Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral, Bishop Frank J. Caggiano reflected on the importance of having patience with others in order “to be the ambassadors of God’s love in the big and small things of life.”
“This is the Sunday of Joy, my friends Gaudete Sunday. And it seems to me that as we wait for the coming of Jesus at Christmas, as we wait for the coming of Christ in glory, when he returns to judge the living and the dead, as we wait for entering ourselves into the glory and eternal life of heaven, as we wait through life, God promises us joy only to the extent that we are willing to be patient and to love and to surrender to his will and all else will be ours in Christ.,” Bishop Caggiano said.
Full Transcript
My dear friends, perhaps it’s my imagination, but it seems to me coming out of covid that more and more people seem to be cross, impatient, confrontational – for perhaps many reasons.
That’s not to say that patience was something we often saw in those around us before covid, but it certainly seems to be in short supply since covid is – please God – being more and more under control.
Whether we’re talking about people who are confrontational at the lines at the supermarkets, or in the gyms, or in our conversation, never mind driving on the Meritt (which was always a challenge and now it’s an obstacle course) and then social media (we won’t even go there), and you and I in our daily lives may also at times be tempted to be impatient.
All of that flies against what Saint James tells us in in his epistle that we are called to be patient until the coming of the Lord. Which if the second coming does not occur in our lifetime means we are to be patient until our death.
How do we grow in patience? Perhaps we begin by asking what patience is.
If you look at the dictionary and look up the word patience, it says “patience is the ability to tolerate or accept delay frustration or any other obstacle without anger, without being upset”. To tolerate frustration and not be upset.
What’s interesting is, if you consider in your life and mine, we’re called to be patient in many different circumstances. For example, in the normal things that happen in life; you are behind someone who is driving slowly and you need to move on… you’re on a supermarket line and that the register teller, the clerk, is new and is learning how to do what he or she needs to do – the normal things of life are tests of patience.
And then there are our relationships. Those of you who are married will know that…those who are of who are friends here, even in my own life, with those who (with whom) I’m close, those whom I love, those with who I deal with, there are going to be circumstances that demand that we be patient. Perhaps for a very long time.
And then perhaps the biggest obstacle of all, the biggest challenge of all, or in those opportunities or in those circumstances where we experience long-term challenges: sickness, unemployment, the sorrow that comes from the death of someone we love very dearly…and how to deal with that which occurs in our hearts demands patience.
And so it is essential for us to understand how you I can grow in that great quality. And perhaps like everything else in the spiritual life, if we look at sacred scripture, we will find the answer. And in this case we will find it in the very life and example of God.
It is interesting my friends that God is described in the scriptures as being patient 39 times. And the most important of all, the one that is most descriptive, appears in the second letter of Saint Peter in the third chapter where he says (Peter himself says) “God is patient for our salvation” – patient with you and me – so that we might accept the gift he wishes to give us.
So what is it about God that allows him to be so patient? My friends it is who God is.
Because we believe God is love. Meaning God’s all life, His entire life is a gift for the good of another, in Himself and in creation. That for patience to be true it means that you and I, and our ego, and our desires, and our satisfaction, and our self-absorption, has to give way to an attitude that is loving. That puts the other person first. They are good first. They are concerned first.
See, for God it is who He is because He is pure love. Pure Divine love. You and I, made in His image and likeness, are called to also love. And that is where the challenge is.
Because at times we become impatient, and the people around us become impatient, because we are forgetting that it’s not about me. It’s not about what I want. It’s not about my expectation. It’s not about my opinion. It’s not about what I desire.
But made in God’s image and Sanctified by his holy spirit, our eyes (are) always should be on our neighbor with an understanding heart, with the forgiving heart, with a kind heart. And when we fail to do that, one of the signs is, we become impatient with those around us.
We forget why we are here in the first place – to be the ambassadors of God’s love in the big and small things of life.
So may I suggest my friends in this week of Advent, this third week of Advent, perhaps you and I can spend this week examining our conscience on how patient we really are. How patient we are with those whom we love…with those whom we work…with those with whom we associate…and with the strangers we will meet in the rough and tumble of life. It is a healthy exercise.
Because if we, in our honesty, can actually admit that there are times when we are truly impatient, then that is pointing to a greater issue. It is pointing to those occasions when we have forgotten we are called to love our neighbor as ourself.
This is the Sunday of Joy my friends – Gaudete Sunday. That is why I am dressed in Rose. And it seems to me that as we wait for the coming of Jesus at Christmas, as we wait for the coming of Christ in glory, when he returns to judge the living and the dead, as we wait for entering ourselves into the glory and eternal life of Heaven, as we wait through life – God promises us joy only to the extent that we are willing to be patient, and to love, and to surrender to His will.
And all else will be ours in Christ.
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Bishop’s Sunday Mass: Bishop Frank J. Caggiano has begun celebrating Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral on Sundays at 8:30 am, and the faithful throughout the diocese are welcome to join him. For those who plan to attend in person, St. Augustine Cathedral is located at 399 Washington Avenue in Bridgeport. The live-stream will be available Sundays at 8:30 am on the St. Augustine Cathedral website (www.thecathedralparish.org), while the replay will be available on the Diocese YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/c/BridgeportDiocese/streams) once Mass concludes.
