This struck me in today's Scripture...

My take on the Third Sunday of Advent is here. But, here is a snippet that discusses the First Reading from Isaiah: 

The imagery in Sunday's First Reading from Isaiah, recorded centuries before the first coming Christ, hints at this coming joy.

The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom.

They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God . . .

Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you . . .

Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; 
they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee (Is. 35:1-2, 4, 10).

As always, there is much to meditate on, but the simple phrase that captures my attention as we come to this Sunday with joy is that once-and-future hope that the prophet gives about one day coming back to our true homeland, "crowned with everlasting glory."

And I wonder if we could envision ourselves on that special Day, would we live any differently than we do now?

After all, rejoicing, as a verb, means it is something that we do.

Read the whole thing here. 


A beautiful hymn that shares the meaning of Gaudete= "Rejoice!"

Translation of the Hymn "Gaudete! Gaudete!"


Gaudete! / Rejoice!
Gaudete! Christus est natus / Rejoice! Christ is born
Ex Maria virgine / Of the Virgin Mary
Gaudete! / Rejoice!
[Christus est natus] / [Christ is born] ..........[x3]

Tempus adest gratiae, / The time of grace has come
Hoc quod optabamus; / That we have desired;
Carmina laetitiae / Let us devoutly return
Devote reddamus. / Joyful verses.

Gaudete! .......... [x2]

Ergo nostra contio, / Therefore let our song
Psallat iam in lustro /; Now be sung in brightness
Benedicat Domino: / Let it give praise to the Lord:
Salus Regi nostro. / Greeting to our King.

Gaudete! .......... [x2]

Tempus adest gratiae, / The time of grace has come
Hoc quod optabamus; / That we have desired;
Carmina laetitiae / Let us devoutly return
Devote reddamus. / Joyful verses.

Gaudete! .......... [x2]


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Words from Pope Benedict:

Here is your God,

he comes with vindication;

with divine recompense

he comes to save you.

Is 35:4

Christian joy thus springs from this certainty: God is close,

he is with me, he is with us, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness

and in health, as a friend and faithful spouse.

--Angelus, December 16, 2007