Third Sunday of Advent

“The Lord Is Near”

Gaudete Sunday

Today the Church says to us: Rejoice.

That’s what “Gaudete” means — rejoice. The rose candle, the lighter vestments — they’re all a gentle interruption of Advent, reminding us where this season is leading.

And if we’re honest, joy can feel like a strange word sometimes. Advent doesn’t always feel joyful. It can feel heavy, unfinished, even uncertain. Some of us come here today carrying worries, grief, or exhaustion. So when the Church says rejoice, it’s not pretending life is easy. It’s pointing us to something deeper.

That’s where today’s readings speak so clearly.

In the first reading, Isaiah gives us this beautiful image:
The desert blooms.
The blind see.
The deaf hear.
The lame leap.
Sorrow and mourning flee.

But Isaiah is speaking to people who are still waiting. They are still in exile. Things are not fixed yet.

Joy in Scripture isn’t about everything being resolved.
Joy is about trusting that God is coming.

Isaiah isn’t saying, “Look, everything is perfect now.”
He’s saying, “Hold on. God has not forgotten you.”

We hear that same waiting in the Gospel.

John the Baptist — the great prophet, the one who prepared the way — is now in prison. And he sends word to Jesus with an honest question:

“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”

That question should comfort us. Even John wonders. Even John struggles when the story doesn’t unfold the way he expected.

And Jesus doesn’t scold him. He simply says:
“Go and tell John what you see and hear.”

The blind see.
The lame walk.
The poor hear good news.

In other words: Look at the signs. God is already at work.

That’s why today, especially at our 10:30 Mass, what we are celebrating fits this Sunday so perfectly.

At that Mass we will celebrate the Rite of Entrance into the Catechumenate and the Rite of Welcoming the Candidates.

In simple terms, this is the moment when people who have been journeying toward the Church take a public step forward. Some are unbaptized and will become catechumens, beginning their formal preparation for Baptism. Others are already baptized Christians who are seeking full communion with the Catholic Church.

They come forward not because they have everything figured out — but because they’ve heard something. They’ve seen something. They’ve sensed God calling them closer.

This rite marks a beginning. It’s a sign that God is still drawing people to himself. That hearts are still being stirred. That faith is still taking root.

On a Sunday when Isaiah speaks of deserts blooming, and Jesus points to signs of new life, we get to see that happening right here, in our own community.

That’s a reason to rejoice.

And James reminds us how to hold that joy.

Be patient, he says. Like a farmer waiting for the precious crop.

The farmer doesn’t rush the harvest. He trusts that growth is happening even when he can’t see it yet.

That’s Advent joy.

Not loud.
Not forced.
But steady.
Hopeful.
Patient.

It’s the joy of trusting that God is faithful — in our lives, in our Church, and in those who are just beginning their journey of faith.

Jesus says something striking about John the Baptist. He calls him the greatest born of women — and yet says the least in the Kingdom is greater still.

Why?

Because we stand on this side of the promise.
We know how the story unfolds.
We know that God doesn’t just come close — God comes among us.

And that’s why we rejoice today.

Not because everything is perfect.
But because the Lord is near.

So this week, look for joy not in having all the answers, but in recognizing the signs of God already at work — in new beginnings, in patient faith, in hearts saying yes to the invitation of Christ.

And let that joy prepare us all for the coming of the Lord.