This Sunday is traditionally called “Gaudete†Sunday from the Latin word for “rejoiceâ€, which is the first word of the entrance antiphon in the liturgy. It calls us to “Rejoice in the Lord always.†There is no implication that we are only to rejoice when we are feeling good or when we are is a state of grace. The message is quite clear: “alwaysâ€. The same conviction is picked up in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He wants us to “be happy, always happy in the Lord.†Paul’s message is that we are to be happy because the Lord is very near. Paul calls us to pray, and then the peace of God will be with us.
We can all become too entangled in the past and in the future. We may be over nostalgic about the past, believing in a golden age when all was well. We may on the other hand have a personal past that has embittered us or left us with deep regrets. We can become trapped by our past, unable to struggle free. Anxiety or excessive planning for the future can have the same effect. Our dream is that we shall reach a point where all our worrries will disappear and we will have created a world of comfort and ease. It never happens. We so often take the ordinary matters of our life for granted or mutter about how they weigh us down or don’t live up to our expectations. We will be able to “rejoice always†only when we are open to how marvellous even the most insignificant parts of our life are. Normally we do not see this. Our anxieties and fears get in the way. No wonder the first words of the angels in the infancy stories of Jesus are: “Do not be afraid!†We are a miracle. All that happens to us and through us is a miracle. We may acknowledge this and rejoice in the unique blend each of us encounters in the gift of our lives.