Some of you may be wondering why the priest wears rose, not pink, vestments today. Well, the answer is in the entrance antiphon that we sung at the beginning of Mass. We sang “Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete..” That is: “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice… The Lord is at hand.” We wear rose because today is a day of joy. We are close to the coming of the Lord. It is a break in the midst of this penitential season of Advent where we rejoice in the fact that the Lord is almost here. It is as if the Church is giddy with anticipation.
Our readings today point to this anticipation of the coming of the Lord and remind us that we need to be prepared for it. When we rejoice because the coming of the Lord is at hand, we mean this in two different ways. Of course, we are referring to the first coming of Christ at Christmas, which we will celebrate 10 days from now. But as we heard in the second reading we are also preparing for the second coming of Christ at the day of the final judgment. This is a little bit harder for us to picture because unlike Christmas where we have beautifully decorated trees, lights, and nativity scenes, we do not know what the second coming will look like and we certainly do not know when it will happen. St James in the Epistle today says “You too must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Just because we do not know the day or the hour of our Lord’s coming, does not mean that we cannot prepare for it.
St James gives us the example of a farmer when he says “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient.” Just as a farmer patiently waits as seeds germinate and grow into crops to be harvested, so too must we be patient because like the farmer, we know the fruits, in the end, will be worth the wait. We will be able to enjoy being in the presence of the Almighty for all eternity. This is our end, this is what God created us for, to love Him and to be with him in heaven. But he also, again out of love, gave us free will, so it up to us to reach the end that God created us for. This is why a season such as Advent is so helpful. It reminds us of this reality; that Christ will come again. Therefore we are given the opportunity to patiently prepare. We do this by examining our conscience and seeking the Lord’s forgiveness in the sacrament of confession. We also do this by how we treat our neighbor. During this time of year, we are given plenty of opportunities to help the less fortunate and to be generous towards others. Let us make sure that this generosity extends beyond the giving of gifts. Let it also be simply being kind to others. Smiling and saying hello to someone you pass on the street, holding the door open for someone, or refusing to engage in gossip about others. Let us also remember to keep each other in prayer. Praying for others is an act of charity. So I would encourage all of us, myself included, to pray for someone whom you may not like or that you disagree with. This small act of Christian Charity will not go unnoticed by our Lord.
My friends, truly let today be a day of rejoicing in the fact that the coming of our Lord is at hand. Take the time to be together as a family. Pray the rosary, watch a movie, order a pizza, or play some games together. Rejoice in the fact that soon our Lord will be with us. Use today as a joyful reminder of the Love our Lord has for us. For he sent us His only begotten Son.
Hound of the Lord 