(Note: I recognize that this post is going up over a week late, owing to the logistics of getting this blog started. But as I thought about the occasion of Gaudete Sunday, I was inspired to start this blog.)
This is an occasion that speaks of joy, as given by the name of this Sunday, "Gaudete", which comes from the Latin term for joy.
As people of the Church, we are filled with joy because by His coming, God is bringing life to our weary world, full of so much that speaks to death. This sense of life is evident as the lame leap, the blind see, the deaf hear, the mute speak, and those who are poor, cast to the side of society, hear the Good News of God's salvation proclaimed to them, as mentioned in the Gospel reading in Matthew, and referenced in the reading from Isaiah, too.
We know that God's promises are certain, just as certain as the farmer expects the crops to grow, as in the 2nd reading from St. Paul's letter to the Romans. Being so confident that God is coming, we are unable to contain our joy. And this joy is not some type of fleeting happiness. It is joy that goes deep down into our being, as God fills us with His presence, bringing us a renewed sense of life. And so we leap in wonder, as God proclaims His Good News to, and through, us.
Sorry, I realize that the 2nd reading is from James, not Romans.
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