THE 3rd Sunday of Advent is usually dubbed as Gaudete Sunday (Rejoice Sunday) because the Entrance Antiphon of the Mass for that day starts with the joyful greeting, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” (Phil 4,4-5)

We are clearly encouraged to be happy as the birth of Christ is now fast approaching. But we have to know what this true Christian joy is. It simply is not a cheap and shallow one, the effect of feasting and bright and colorful decors with music and caroling all around. Rather, it should be the effect of a clean heart that gives the most appropriate welcome to Christ.

Thus, in the gospel of the Mass, we are somehow reminded of the need for repentance, an act of general spiritual and moral cleaning, so Christ would be most happy to enter into our lives.

The gospel is about John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ, who when asked by the Jews who he was, clearly said, “I am, as Isaiah prophesied, a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord.” (Jn 1,23) That, though not in so many words, means that John the Baptist is appealing for repentance from everyone, an appeal that given the temper of the times, can be described as a “cry in the wilderness.”

Repentance should not be difficult thing to do. All we need to do is just to say as sincerely as possible that we are sorry for our sins. Better yet, we go to confession, the sacrament that clearly gives us the divine absolution for our sins.

And even if at the back of our mind we somehow know that we would still fall into sin sooner or later, we should not be hindered in expressing repentance as often as necessary, since God always forgives. He always understands and is compassionate and merciful. Of course, on our part, we should try our best not abuse the goodness of God.

In this regard, we also should train ourselves not to stay long in keeping some negative feelings of heaviness of heart, of guilt and shame because of our sin. As long as we have asked for forgiveness properly, we have every reason to feel light and happy, focused on doing a lot of good.

Thus, it is important that we also keep our emotions and passions in check, because they have the notorious tendency to dominate us in their erratic ways. We should learn to show our joy that radiates from a clean heart, a heart reconciled with God.

We have to understand that only when we are truly happy can we do a lot of good things. That’s when we can truly capture the mind and heart of Christ who, despite the passion and death that he had to go through, would lead us to the happy victory of his resurrection.

As we commemorate the birth of Christ our Redeemer this Christmas, let us resolve to always live a happy life, knowing perfectly well where that happiness should spring and what it involves.

Let us also spread this Good News of the true Christian joy as widely as possible so we can lead many to the true source of happiness, taking them away from the paths of fake and bogus forms of joy.

Rising early morn till Christmas to join the beautiful tradition dubbed Misa de Gallo is a good sacrifice for many devout Catholics. The masses that are held before the break of day include novenas for the manger. It is a practice that affords families to wake up too early for a communal prayer that brings unity among all faithful. Beginning today which falls on a Saturday of the second week of advent season, we are all called to make the best preparation for the coming of our Savior. Advent is indeed a good start of the liturgical year where all are called to pave a clean and straight life for the Lord’s entrance into every heart. It is a call for everyone to strive to become worthy of Christ, the Word that was made flesh and born of the Virgin Mary on Christmas day.

In preparing for Christmas, we ought to find its true meaning so that we may receive the best gift of the season. Notwithstanding our dire situation and despite the problems besetting us in our daily struggle, we still have good reason to rejoice for Christ is coming to us so that we may be saved from the bondage of sin. In our nothingness, there is cause for joy as we hope for the great gift of love from God. The incarnation of the Word is the fulfillment of God’s plan to send His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. The call upon us all is to believe in God and live what we believe in faith so that we may be worthy of the true meaning of Christmas which is love.

We are called to remain focused on our faith and concentrate our belief only in God above all. This call is apt in these times as we live in a world of many distractions and confused teachings. At times, we are overpowered by our human weakness to go astray from the way God has taught us to follow so that we may attain salvation. In the confusion of the various teachings from self-proclaimed teachers who use the bible in proclaiming their own adventurous and misguided interpretation. These false preachers carry teachings against the Catholic Church, in utter disregard of the teaching authority that Jesus Christ gave to the Catholic Church that He established.

Knowing the Word is knowing Jesus Christ, our Savior who is to come this Christmas. The Holy Bible is the Word that was made by the Catholic Church to serve as one of the sources of our faith. The Word is Jesus Christ himself, the second person of the Holy Trinity that came and lived with us on earth. We find in the sacred scriptures the truth about the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us which is no other than Jesus Christ. We only have to know the Word by knowing Jesus Christ as revealed in sacred scriptures and sacred tradition as well.

As we strive to complete the nine dawn masses in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, let us make our every effort a joyous offering for our Savior. The true meaning of Christmas may only be found in each and every heart. Apart from the material preparations that we all worry and are anxious of, let us try to focus on the significant aspect of our preparation. Being ready for Christmas is not necessarily manifested in our having the things and food and decorations. It is in our being able to clean and straighten our lives so that with open hearts we may receive Jesus Christ in our lives.

This preparation is aptly the one that counts most in the cool breeze of December as Filipinos troop to attend dawn masses called Misa de Gallo or the anticipated Simbang Gabi which starts in the evening of December 15, this writer’s special day of thanksgiving for God’s gift of life.
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