Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,
“Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!” So urges us St. Paul in this Sunday’s second reading. The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete Sunday, coming from the Latin word for rejoice. Although every Sunday is a joyful celebration of Christ’s victory over sin and death, the Church sets aside two Sundays of the year to focus on rejoicing. Take up the Church’s request today and rejoice!
Maybe that means you go out with the family for dinner, make a special meal, decorate the Christmas tree together, pray a rosary together, watch a Christmas movie (may I suggest, It’s a Wonderful Life), but definitely do something today that allows you to rejoice in the Lord. To rejoice requires us to step aside from the routine, leave work behind, make room for God and family, and flee from mindless distractions and worries.
The world gives us work and temporary escape from work as the be-all and end-all of life. This leads to drudgery. Christ and his Church provide us with heavenly worship and sacrificial love as the alternative to what the world offers, and I think that is a much more fulfilling and joyful way to live. It takes real effort to escape the entrancing rhythm of the world’s demands, but doing so is worth the effort. Only then can we taste real joy in communion with others
I wish to express a big thank you to all who contributed to the parish on Giving Tuesday! Although I don’t have the final number yet on how much we received, I am confident that we will be able to finish the renovation of our parish hall kitchen through your generosity.
In Christ,
Fr. Dave
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