“Rejoice!” is the message of the Third Sunday of Advent, that’s why it is called Gaudete Sunday. How do you rejoice when you suffer? Take to heart this lesson from the Letter of St. James which is actually the Second Reading of the liturgy.Here are some excerpts from Pope Benedict’s short commentary on this reading during his Angelus address yesterday. (See this site for complete version)
Pope Benedict XVI explained: "He who has sown seeds in the field has before him some months of patient and constant expectation, but he knows that in the meantime the seed goes through its cycle thanks to the autumn and spring rains. The farmer is not a fatalist, but is the model of a mentality that unites faith and reason in a balanced way because, on one hand, he knows the laws of nature and does his work well, and, on the other hand, he trusts in Providence, because certain basic things are not in his hands but in God's hands. (…) "Patience and constancy are precisely the synthesis between human effort and trust in God."
What’smore, the Pope suggest a “compass” for finding our way in this difficult times. He pointed to the Word of God as an aid in strengthening our hearts. "If the vicissitudes of life make us feel lost and every certainty seems to crumble, we have a compass for finding direction, we need not fear being adrift. The prophet finds his joy and his strength in the power of the Lord's Word and, while men often seek happiness along paths that turn out to be mistaken, he announces the true hope, the one that doesn't delude because it is founded on the fidelity of God."
In this regard, let me share with you a beautiful gift which someone sent me today: one-page bible!
