Dear Friends,
Today we light the third candle on our Advent wreath. For families keeping this Advent wreath ritual at home can use the prayer put in this bulletin. We are reminded of how we all need that light of Jesus Christ to dispel the darkness within us. Brighter the light, clearer the vision.
Today is called “Gaudete Sunday” because today’s Mass (in its Latin form), began with the opening antiphon: “Gaudete in Domino semper” –“Rejoice in the Lord always.” In the past, when Advent was a season of penance, the celebrant of the liturgy used to wear vestments with the penitential color of purple or violet. In order to remind the people that they were preparing for the very joyful occasion of the birth of Jesus, the celebrant wore rose-colored vestments on the third Sunday. (you may remember that we have a similar break–Laetare Sunday—in Lent). Today we light the rose candle, and the priest may wear rose vestments, to express our joy in the coming of Jesus, our Savior. The primary common theme running through today’s readings is joy as we keep busy or even anxious with the preparation required of us who await the rebirth of Jesus in our hearts and lives. The second common theme is that of bearing witness. The prophet Zephaniah in the first Reading, Isaiah in the Responsorial Psalm and St. Paul in the second reading – all exhort us to rejoice and be glad.
This does not mean all people are happy. Many of us may not realize that there is a lot of sadness behind a smiling face. Those who suffer anxiety or stress cover it up with a smile. I read what a young person in college wrote last year:
“I am no longer afraid to admit how I’ve struggled with my mental health over the past three years. I have dealt with both anxiety and depression, both of which are common among teens.
I had trouble opening up to others and getting the help I needed. Instead I would lock myself in my room because I felt so much comfort in the darkness. Everyone had different coping mechanisms for handling not just mental health, but life in general. One thing I learned from my experience with depression was the ability to cope with my feelings by expressing them. Writing poetry helped me the most.”
Mental illness is so common that it can easily be overlooked. The “Accompaniment Project,” about which our young people spoke during all the Masses last weekend, is precisely to address the reality of mental health that afflicts more people than we know. Our parish Youth ministry’s Steering Committee (Deacon John Radvanski, Sue Lenczewski, Keith Slyman, Denik Joseph, Pat Cullen, Mary Guardini, Iris Abraham, Carl Furtado and Abigail Joseph) has prepared a survey/questionnaire that you were asked to respond, see page 8 for access to the survey. Thank you for your good will to support this Accompaniment Project which is a grant-funded initiative of the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM). We are happy and proud that our parish of St. Matthias is one of the 43 parishes chosen from 17,000 plus parishes nationwide. The goal is to actively support young people in their faith journey, being present with them and listen to their needs to ultimately guide them to a deeper relationship with Christ. As I thank our Youth Ministry leaders, I invite us all to support this very worthwhile cause.
Your brother in Christ,
Fr. Abraham Orapankal