The third Sunday of Advent is about one thing and one thing only : Joy. The pink candle in the Advent Wreath for this Sunday represents joy. This is our time to withdraw from the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations, to pause a little, and consider what Christmas really means. It is about joy.

How often I’ve heard parents complain to me about being drained over the Christmas Season! How their kids didn’t appreciate what they gave them for Christmas! How their expectations and hopes for a warm and uplifting family get-together went up in smoke, only to be replaced by bickering and discontent and disillusionment. What went wrong? They did not experience the joy of Christmas because they took too much upon themselves. They set out to please others by giving them things rather than the gift of joy itself which they have been called upon to receive. If you don’t possess the gift of joy, how can you share it with one another! This gift of the soul is priceless for it comes from God.

Jesus makes it very clear that His mission is not only to give us joy, but to complete it (Gospel of John, 15:11). On this third Sunday of Advent, which is called, Joyful Sunday, we need to ponder Jesus’s sublime message of joy.

The joy of the Christian is a sharing in the joy of Christ who overcame suffering, opposition, rejection, fear and even death itself. The gospel is all about this kind of joy. It is the joy that never fades for it gives energy to faded hearts, rejuvenates the prematurely old, restores life to arid souls, and finds joy in everything, even suffering. What a gift!

This joy wells up from the deep recesses of the human soul. It is not to be achieved by living on the surface but by penetrating the deepest truths of ourselves through the grace of God. It is not the same as happiness which is a fleeting thing. Joy is deeper and more permanent. It is a quality of the soul that finds rest in the beauty of the Lord’s kingdom.

The joy the Lord gives us is the grace to go beyond appearances, to examine our life styles with a view to making them more Christ-like. The sacrifices we make to follow Christ in order to enter into His joy is worth it for He gives us a new spirit: the Holy Spirit. To experience this new spirit we must be prepared to put aside old ways and old habits that are selfish, dysfunctional, joyless. What a blessing it is to be able to do this! What joy we bring to others when we show them love instead of hatred or jealousy or anger or pride or greed!

The gift of joy is one of the most valuable gifts God has given us. It manifests itself and flows out into an unlimited variety of experiences and new awakenings. Our renewed spirits can shake with joy again at the many experiences of new life: the incredible beauty and interconnectedness of nature, the joy of people celebrating their unions together, the special beauty of dedicated and unselfish lives, the joy of watching innocent children frolicking on sandy beaches or in schoolyard playgrounds, the graceful appearances of those who possess this gift without fear of life or death. Nothing in this world can deprive you of this joy which you can carry with you wherever you go and enjoy wherever you are.

This is the joy which the Lord gives. It is the joy of the soul which He calls “complete” because it encompasses and transcends every other kind of joy. It is the joy that never ends because it is an interior quality that never fades away.

So, make it your special project this third week of Advent to spread joy wherever you are, wherever you go, and with whomever you meet. Do not hide it “under a bushel basket” but let it shine for all to see. Take the day off. Bring the children to the mall to see the Christmas lights. Celebrate this joy in Church and out of Church.

That is why St. Paul tells us, in Philippians 4 : 4  to rejoice always.

Fr. Hugh Duffy