Sunday, December 15, 2013

Rejoice, Rejoice!


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.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak,
say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God, he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing.

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. Isaiah 35:1-6A, 10



Happy Gaudete (rejoice) Sunday!! Just dropping in for a quick note as we enter into the third week of Advent...

What a long two weeks it has been at the Casa! Fighting stir-crazies, sickness and exhaustion, we are a bit weary as we anticipate Christmas. We did finally get most of our shopping done this weekend thanks to our friends at Amazon.com and Etsy. I must admit, I've only browsed Etsy before, but after a longer excursion through the inner sanctum of the site, I might be a bit of an addict. I guess that suggestion for putting an Etsy.com gift certificate on my wish list isn't such a bad idea after all. I could spend all our money there for lots of pretty pretty things for the house. I haven't even looked at the jewelry and crafts!

Back to Gaudete Sunday, in which we light the rose (not pink) candle. I learned something today at Mass about why we celebrate in rose tones. I must say I never really stopped to think about the why - I just figured in contrast to the deep hues of purple for penitence, pink was more joyful. Fr. John in his homily described the image of the hues of the sky at the earliest hint of sunrise, and how there is a pink aurora before the sun hits the sky (well, in places other than Michigan when it is snowing, I suppose). He explained that we celebrate in rose because Gaudete Sunday is our moment to rejoice in anticipation of the coming of the Light of the World. We begin to see the hint of the coming of the Son of Man and see that same rosy aurora fill the world in anticipation of the end of darkness and coming Light. 

Love.

Next year I will have to plan ahead and set out rosy hues to wear instead of the dark grey and black tones of today's last minute functioning on 2 hours of sleep wardrobe choice. Did I mention that our little man has decided the only way he will sleep after the week of sickness is being held? He can be dead-to-the-world asleep, but the minute you move him in the direction of his crib he is wailing as though it is the end of the world as he knows it. Oh, little man, even that beautiful smile may not get you through too many more nights of those shenanigans. Praying tonight breaks the streak. Anyone have a go-to patron saint to get children to sleep?? Anyone??? Our Lady and St. Michael may be tiring of my pleas...

That is all from the Casa for now. Look for a series from me next week based on a reflection I did for a ladies Advent by Candlelight last week. I hope you are all enjoying a peaceful Advent. May we continue to keep in prayers so many people who are suffering the loss of loved ones, illnesses, war, famine and a real threat to their lives as they wait upon Jesus, especially our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. May God reward their faith and bring them peace.


1 comment:

  1. What a lovely image of the hint of the Son's advent into the world; thanks. And prayers are going up for you right now!

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