Rejoice And Prepare The Way

𝐃𝐄𝐂. 𝟏𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐃 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟑𝟓:𝟏-𝟔, 𝟏𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟒𝟔: 𝟔-𝟏𝟎 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐈: 𝐉𝐚𝐦 𝟓:𝟕-𝟏𝟎

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟏𝟏:𝟐-𝟏𝟏

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞:  “𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮; 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟏𝟏:𝟏𝟎) 

        I am sure you may have noticed that our government goes into meticulous preparation whenever a foreign dignitary comes to visit our country such as in the case of a State Visit of a Head of State of another country. Roads are prepared and even the unsightly views of squatter shanties along the road are boarded up and covered with lamp posts decorated with banners and buntings.

        On a personal scale, don’t we also prepare our homes whenever we expect visitors whom we have invited to spend time with us. This Christmas season many homes especially those who can afford are spruced up to welcome not only visitors but more importantly the festive air that comes with the birth of Christ.

        In other words, what’s happening today was what happened when John the Baptist urged the people in his time to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. And today, we are also being called to prepare for the coming of Our Lord by turning away from our sinful and corrupt ways and putting our lives in order because the very source of life and light is coming.       

        Today being the Third Sunday of the Advent Season the pink candle that stands in the middle of the Advent wreath is lit and our Church refers to this day as Gaudete Sunday, or which is commonly known among us Catholics as “𝐑𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲.”

        As we get into the middle of the Advent Season our spiritual environment somewhat relaxes into a joyous atmosphere in contrast to the urgency with which we were called to repentance and renewal at the beginning of the season.

        On this Third Sunday of Advent, we are being invited to rejoice because the source of True Joy is coming and we await His coming not only with joyful expectancy but we also are filled with the assurance that the sin and perversity to which this world has sunk will soon be replaced by the deep joy that will last forever. 

        The prophet Isaiah in the first reading (𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟑𝟓:𝟏-𝟔, 𝟏𝟎) says that the Lord’s favor has come upon the Israelites. In fact, the first reading is like a prophecy that provides hope to our people who are now experiencing tremendous difficulties caused by the unending spikes in the cost of basic commodities, especially rice and a society whose core Christian values are being challenged by the perversion and spiritual corruption that has filled our environment.

        The prophet Isaiah says Our Lord will come with vindication and recompense and when applied to present-day realities, the Filipino people whom He will ransom from the stink of graft and corruption perpetrated by our own leaders will enter God’s Kingdom singing and crowned with everlasting joy.

        In line with the observance of the Jewish tradition of having forerunners announce the arrival of very prominent officials or individuals, God has sent John the Baptist to be the herald who will make straight the way for the Lord.

        And to make sure that he is aware of his role as the herald, John asked Jesus if He was the one who is to come (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟏𝟏:𝟑) To understand the meaning of what John said we have to go back in history to give us an idea of what he said.

        We also need to realize that the roads in those days were unpaved and in some instances are mere tracks. They are what we may call dirt roads, and it was customary that these roads are smoothen out and paved to prepare for the coming of a dignitary or a king who was to visit his domain.

        In calling on the people then and now to straighten their ways, what John the Baptist was saying was that the hearts of men could be likened to the unpaved roads with their corrupt behavior and which they need to smoothen to prepare for the coming of the Lord. What John was also saying was that: “𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺.”

        In essence, we who embrace the Christian faith have also been appointed as heralds and by the spiritual laws of succession we also inherited the role of John the Baptist and our mandate is to serve as messengers to prepare the way for the coming of Christ.

        But central to this role are the pathways within us because we cannot go out into the world to proclaim the coming of the King if we ourselves have not seen him.

        This is when the Baptism of Repentance that John preached becomes a reality because our baptism in the Spirit should move us to repent of our sins and surrender our sinful nature to Our Lord Jesus Christ. As we do, we must die to our old selves and be born anew into a new life (𝟐 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟓:𝟏𝟕).

        I also recall a homily I heard some years back on Gaudete Sunday from Fr. Joel Vernon Alano, Spiritual Director and one of the Formators of the San Pablo Seminary in Baguio City who said that there are three things we need to remember on Gaudete Sunday – that (1) we are to be a 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 though we must remember that this light in us must reflect the True Light which is Christ. He said Gaudete Sunday is a call to holiness and we can do this by being connected to the source of light. As we cannot light ourselves, our connectedness to the True Light which is Christ assures us of the flow of Grace that should fill our lives before we can go on mission.

        Our lives, according to Fr. Alano, must (2) also 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄 if we are to be like a candle. We shine by the kind of love that we have for one another. We shine by being a forgiving person. We shine by being humble like John. As we have been gifted with talents and skills, Fr. Alano suggests that we are to use these gifts for the community, but we must not lose track of the fact that we should shine to give glory to God.

        Finally, as a candle that shines, our lives must (3) continually 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍. As we are living on borrowed time, our lives also melt like the lit candle, but the question is do we burn and shine like John who led others to Christ or do we block others from receiving Christ. As baptized Christians, Fr. Alano urged the lay faithful to shine and to keep the light entrusted to us to burn brightly.

        His homily also reminded me of one of the Pastoral Exhortation given by the late BLD Global Spiritual Director Archbishop Angel Lagdameo. In his exhortation, Archbishop Lagdameo reminded us to use this Advent Season to remain connected to Christ and to find a balance between our functions on one hand and spirituality on the other.

        Archbishop Lagdameo urged all lay leaders to use the Grace of Office that they have received to serve the church while maintaining our connectedness to the source of all power and Grace. Similarly, the responsibility to bring the light to others especially the unchurched should not rest on leaders alone but on every individual who has received Christ in their hearts. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘋𝘦𝘤. 14, 2025)