The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is a Latin word that means “rejoice.” Our entrance antiphon today calls us to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” And tomorrow is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas. Many people in North, South and Central America who are devoted to the Virgin of Guadalupe will celebrate this wonderful feast. In Mexico the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a national holiday. Right now millions of people are surrounding the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, some having traveled on foot for days to get there, singing, dancing, praying and paying homage to their spiritual mother.
In today’s gospel, Matthew 11:2-11, Jesus assures John the Baptist and his disciples that he is “the one” and that John’s role as the messenger sent to prepare the way of the Lord has been fulfilled. Jesus also praises John’s work saying, “among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). Just as John the Baptist was the messenger of repentance and hope to the children of Israel, so too was Our Lady of Guadalupe a messenger of hope and redemption to the indigenous people of the Americas. She played a remarkable role in the evangelization of the New World.
The role of messenger did not end with John the Baptist or with our Lady of Guadalupe. Over the centuries countless messengers have gone out to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. As baptized Christians and citizens of the kingdom of heaven, each one of us is called to prepare the way of the Lord in our own hearts and minds and in the hearts and minds of everyone we encounter. This is an important responsibility and one we should take very seriously. After all, Jesus told the disciples of John the Baptist, his own disciples and he tells us that, “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than” John the Baptist.
And so on this Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, we rejoice and thank God for the gift of his Son, Jesus the Christ who came into our world to save us. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.”
God of peace,
Whose word is good news for the oppressed,
healing for the brokenhearted,
and freedom for all who are held bound;
gladden our hearts and fashion the earth
into a garden of righteousness and praise.
Sanctify us in spirit, soul and body,
so that we may generously prepare the way for your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ, who was,
who is and who is to come,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
AMEN
