The Sunday that falls within the Octave of Christmastide is dedicated to the celebration of the family, and so it is called “Holy Family Sunday.” This Sunday is meant to bring to the fore the blessing and merits of the institution of The Family which is so esteemed by the Church that she refers to it as the Domestic Church. What would the Church look like without the Family?

We have arrived at the Fourth Sunday of Advent, the last weekend before Christmas. We have been preparing for the coming of our Saviour and the Readings for this weekend answer the question about who He is. Jesus of Nazareth is the fulfillment of the covenant promises made by God to King David of old. God had promised to confer permanent duration to the reign of David’s house over Israel, but when David’s princely descendants failed to rule over Israel with justice in accordance with Divine will, God elected to rule over Israel Himself. This Divine rulership was achieved when Jesus took flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and was born in the house of Joseph, His foster father, a descendant of King David.

Today is known as Gaudete Sunday, Gaudete is the Latin word for “rejoice.” Today, we light the rose-colored candle on our Advent Wreath, signifying our symbolic expression of joy. On this Gaudete or Rejoice Sunday. We are invited to reflect on the things that make us truly joyful. What makes us truly happy and joyful? Is it our work, family, faith, money, good health, sports, etc? We are also invited to even go beyond identifying the things that make us joyful during this Christmas Season to see how we can share our joy with those who are in need around us. The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas is a way of sharing our joy not only with those who are in need but those within our families.

Apart from the Lord Jesus, Himself, and Mary, His blessed mother, no other New Testament protagonist gets more “individual airtime” like John the Baptist in the Liturgy of the Church. The Church celebrates both his nativity (June 24) and his martyrdom (August 29). He is also given special mention in the earthly life of Jesus, especially in His early life and at the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. John is presented as a close relative of Jesus who precedes Christ in earthly birth. Like Jesus, his birth is foretold and his name was predetermined by God via an Angel (Luke 1:13). He is credited with an encounter with Christ while both were in their mother’s womb (Luke 1:41); he baptized Christ and witnessed the beginning of His public ministry, and it was he who pointed Christ out to his disciples and called Him “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus Himself described John as the greatest of all the children born of women (Matthew 11:11). On the Second Sunday of Advent, we are introduced to this enigmatic Scriptural character.

Welcome to a new Liturgical Year, “Year B.”

Welcome to the First Sunday of Advent, the Season during which we await the commemoration of the First Coming of Jesus, as well as prepare for His Second Coming. Whether it is the individual Second Coming, which will happen when each one will experience the separation of our mortal bodies from our immortal souls, or at the general Parousia when Christ comes again to reunite our bodies once more with our souls and call all humanity to Judgement; the Season of Advent reminds us of the need to stay spiritually alert and active, not in fear but in joyful anticipation of the restoration of our truest nature, our Sonship in the Kingdom of God.