On two Sundays of the year, the Church wears rose-colored vestments. Originally, the tradition comes from the 4th Century when the Roman Empress, St. Helena and wife of Constantine the Great presented roses of pure gold to the heads of allied countries and important persons which were especially blessed by the pope on this day. This became known as the Sunday of the Roses. Thus, the custom arose of wearing rose-colored vestments on this day. Over the years meaning of this day changed.
The two Sundays rose is worn is Laetare Sunday in Lent and today, Gaudete Sunday in Advent. Both Lent and to a lesser degree, Advent is a season of penance. Midway through, the Church relaxed the disciplines of penance for one day. A lighter shade of purple is rose. So today, flowers are allowed in church and the organ, which was silent, was played on this day. We are getting closer to the feast of Christ’s birth, so the church encourages us to rejoice. The Church uses the color of vestments to symbolize the meaning of the day or season.
The Entrance Antiphon sets the tone: even the Entrance Antiphon that is sung at the beginning of Mass on Gaudete Sunday speaks of the joy we must possess: Gaudéte in Domino semper: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.
It is the Lord alone in whom we find our joy. It is in His gospel that we can be joyful even in difficult times. Joy is the state of the soul, even when carrying our crosses, we can be joyful, maybe not too happy, but certainly joyful in knowing we are not alone in our difficulties.
Of course there are times when we are tempted to think if only things were different or if I had this or that, then I would be happy. We often confuse happiness or joy with pleasure. There are many things that give pleasure, but as we know pleasure is fleeting, and what once gave us pleasure, no longer does, so I have to find something more intensive. And in the end, none of it brings us joy. The only thing that can bring us joy is our relationship with our Lord and knowing the infinite love of God.
Lessons and Carols Today at 3:00PM our Parish’s annual Lessons and Carols will be conducted. It is a prayer service that consists of nine readings from Sacred Scripture, and the singing of Christmas music and Christmas carols.
The strength and beauty of the service derive from the reading of Sacred Scripture. The readings are the development of the loving plan of God for our salvation. It starts with the original sin of Adam and Eve and culminates in the wonderful moment when God took on human flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. It is the story of God’s love for humanity through word and music; we will hear the world’s most beautiful music, we will sing familiar carols.
Please make an effort to attend and hear our Church’s choir and our parish lectors tell the story of God’s loving plan of our salvation. It will help us spiritually to prepare for Christmas.
After the Lessons and Carols, our Parish Rosary Altar Society will host a Wine and Hors d’oeuvre Reception in Toner Hall. Please come down and enjoy and meet new people.
Family Mass Next Sunday our Family Mass will be at the 9:00AM Mass. All families are invited to attend; afterwards in Toner Hall all are invited to meet other families, arts and crafts for the children and time for parents.
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