Pastor’s Pen
St. Augustine Catholic Church
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Third Sunday of Advent
Dear Church Family,
As we were celebrating the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick last Sunday, all week long I have been praying for everyone to be healed of any and all physical, mental, emotional, or relationship problems so that each of us will be ready to receive the Lord with no guile or animosity in us. Then we will be following the wonderful Beatitude: Blessed are the pure in heart and be ready to shout for Joy! Yours will be God’s and you can feel that you are going in the right direction. For our goal again and again is to be open to a deeper and deeper union with the Lord. Once we satisfy that problem, we are on a clear road that leads to blessed union with the Lord.
Advent is half over and today is Rejoice Sunday, traditionally called Gaudete Sunday. So, today, we can again celebrate the Sacrament that heals us and gives us God’s total mercy and love in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We can feel free in asking God for a deeper understanding of our sins, faults, and failings and to wake us up to how to have a deeper realization to be in union with one another and in union with the Lord. We can also come to the Lord as the soldiers, tax collectors and others came to the Lord and asked, “What can we do?” They were truly open and we having been healed thus far can all the more be open and say, “Alleluia!!” Rejoice!!
As we come to this third Sunday of Advent, rose vestments are traditionally worn to welcome in the great blessing of rejoicing. We hear Zephaniah in the Old Testament saying, “Shout for joy! Sing joyfully!” Make your request known to God. Then the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. So rejoice and all the more with John the Baptist as you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, who will come and anoint you with baptism and with water and fire too so that you can live that baptism with a deeper feeling of wanting to share your faith. Then you will also be an evangelizer which the church wants you to be in these next coming years. So rejoice, church, and be glad! So union with God and each other is our goal and certainly you are on a closer walk with the Lord. Amen! Alleluia!
Love,
Father Bob
No comments yet.