Third Sunday in Advent (Gaudete Sunday)
Fr. Anthony Brankin
If you should ever get the opportunity to go to Rome you will be thrilled to see all the beautiful churches. And of course you will be thrilled to see all the art in all those churches. Now as good Catholics with good Catholic souls and instincts you will not look at all that art like the tourists look at it—But you, of course, will recognize the art as your pictures—your saints—your story, your friends in the faith. And one thing I think you will notice as you go from altar to altar and image to image—in the flickering light of many candles—is that the picture may be of Jesus or Mary or the Apostles or saints—the statue may be a Bible scene or a depiction of a miracle or a martyrdom—you will notice there is—in almost every face—in every pair of eyes—in every mouth—always a smile.
There is in almost every figure—a quiet happiness—a peaceful tranquility—a blessed serenity. In the faces of all those saints you will see subtle smiles, hopeful gazes and grateful nods—even if the image is of a Saint being martyred in the worst possible way, they are smiling. And that smile draws you to those saints—and therefore to Jesus. You want to know them because they are so mysteriously happy. Why are they happy even in the midst of the worst suffering? Because the joy of God is deep within them. It is their faith which makes them smile.
Purple or Rose?
In other words, Catholic artists are trying to say that because of our religion—because of the things we believe, we can live our lives happily in this world—even if bad things happen to us. And why? Because we know that God is there with us in our trials and pains—in our sufferings and tears. Our Catholic faith gives us all the confidence we need—no matter what. That is what Catholic art—in Rome—or Mexico or South America tells us. No matter what sufferings and sorrows befall us in this life, our Catholic faith—in Jesus and in the Virgin—gives us strength and gives us joy. No matter what happens.
You see our religion is not just about logic or reason or ideas or theology—it is not even only about taking care of the poor—it is primarily about the joyful presence of God in our soul. That is what gives us hope and makes us smile. Look at those candles in our sanctuary—the three purple ones, the dark ones. These three dark and sad and purple candles symbolize the world and our lives without Jesus—without our Catholic faith. The three purple candles are the people who wake up at three in the morning with a hangover and headache and ask themselves—Is this all I have to show for my life? Is this all there is? The three purple candles are the people who do not know from where they came or to where they are going. And every struggle and every temptation and every sin and sorrow buries them more deeply in the dark mess of this life. These people are the purple candles. They have no faith—no hope—and no love. Nor do they have any smiles. Those purple candles are life without the Catholic faith.
But then look at the rose-colored candle—the one we light today—the Third Sunday of Advent—this is Rejoice Sunday—Gaudete Sunday as we say in Latin. This candle says; “It is not all bad. It is not all purple. There is hope!” This is how it all comes together: Everyone’s life is full of many things. Some good. Some bad. Some happy. Some sad. But if we do not know God—the bad only gets worse, the suffering multiplies and every tear we shed is forever. How terrible. But, if we know God and if we hope in him and love him—why that makes all the difference in the world— because no matter what terrible things befall us—God is there with us—and that is good. That is what makes us smile that beatific smile that we see on the faces of all the saints—the smile that says that we know that God is our comfort. He is our joy. He is our Life our light and our salvation. God is that rose-colored candle.
Rejoice? Of course!