A Gaudete Sunday Thought to Start the Week Off Right
Gaudete Sunday reminds us, in this penitential season of Advent, that even in the midst of our penance, we rejoice. The Introit of today's Mass, from which this Sunday takes its name, proclaims:
Gaudete in domino semper...Rejoice in God always.
This year, our rejoicing will be mixed with sorrow after the terrible events in Newtown, Connecticut. Yet I'm reminded that tragedy attended that very first Christmas when the little ones, those we call the Holy Innocents, were slaughtered by Herod's soldiers so soon after Our Lord's birth.
Indeed, as Christmas Day calls us to attend to and pray to the Little One in the stable, Holy Church, in her wisdom, reminds us on December 28th - a mere three days after the Feast of the Nativity - to remember and pray for the little ones, those Holy Innocents, who were killed in that terrible evil act of a darkened mind. This year, we have more little ones to remember and pray for - the little ones killed in Newtown, Connecticut this past week.
Is it the Devil who darkened Herod's mind and the mind of the Newtown killer? I can imagine his fury at Our Lord's birth and eventual triumph with His death and resurrection must grow especially acute at Christmas, a black day indeed for the Lord of This World, whose Lordship was stripped away in the moment that Our Lady said "Yes" to the angel Gabriel.
Even if we find the hand of the Devil at work here, it does not, of course, excuse the acts of the individuals who committed these horrors. And yet, we Catholics are called to pray for such people as our enemies - for all those who would wish us ill. Do we pray for Herod and the gunman of Newtown? I don't know. Perhaps we do, however, consign their fate to the merciful God who loves even the likes of us sinners, we who struggle now through Advent, anticipating the coming of Jesus, despite even the terrible sadness that comes with thoughts of those little children.
Yes, I'm kind of rambling but what can you do in the face of evil like this? Can you make sense of it? I know I can't. All I can do is pray for those little souls and their grieving families.
The one clear thought I might share, though, is the idea that Christmas isn't just some "escape" from the world, a respite from our work, a time to rest our weary bones, hearts and souls. Christmas calls us to welcome Christ first and foremost into our lives. It calls us to bring Christ into this valley of tears, even in the face of the tragedy and horror, like that we just witnessed in Newtown. It calls us to spiritual and corporal works of mercy, those acts which, when perform out of love for God and our neighbor, will draw others to Christ.
As so, as the rule of St Benedict reminds us today, "we serve one Lord and fight under one King everywhere." We prepare now to enter the stable and kneel before the Divine Infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, a mere nine days from today. With renewed strength, we will continue to live as Catholics, growing closer to Our Blessed Lord every day of our lives, even in the face of such evil as we have seen this past week.
Eternal rest grant to those little ones, Dear Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Divine Infant of Bethlehem, come and take birth in our hearts.
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