This is the Third Sunday of Advent. It is also called “Gaudete” or “Rejoice” Sunday, taking the cue from the first word of the opening prayer of the Mass. It is the theme of today’s celebration: rejoicing.
This celebration serves as a kind of break from the theme of penance and expectation of the former Sundays. Now we should rejoice, because the Lord is near.
The gospel of today’s Mass contains the “identification mark” of the promised redeemer. “The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleaned, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matthew 11:5-6).
These were the feats that the promised Messiah was supposed to accomplish, according to the Old Testament. Jesus Christ had fulfilled them. The disciples of John had to acknowledge this. In fact, many of them became followers of Jesus.
Nowadays, we cannot expect the same manifestations and miracles, although God may still allow some wonders to happen. But analogous marvels continue, by the grace and power of God.
The blind see. There are people who are blind to the life of the spirit. Their visions are limited to this Earth, without any supernatural outlook.
The lepers are cleansed. Sin is a kind of leprosy of the soul. The soul is cleansed through genuine contrition and confession.
The dead rise. As far as the spiritual life is concerned, there may be walking corpses in our midst—those who have killed the supernatural life of grace in the soul.
All these “ailments” are remedied by the presence of Jesus Christ in our life.
But how is the presence of Christ possible? We need to aim at having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We should not view Jesus Christ as merely a historical figure that once was, and now is no more.
As Saint Paul says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. That Jesus, of whom we read in the gospel, continues with us today.
When we read the Sacred Scripture, we can see the character of that Man God.
We can see His human heart, bursting with love and affection for men. We can see His human body, giving in to the fatigue of His labors. We can see His indignation at the merchants of the temple, and His tenderness for those little children that came to Him.
From a consideration of the humanity of Jesus Christ, we can advance to a personal relationship with Him, in interior life. Then, we can really benefit from the presence of the Messiah, and He, Himself, will come to heal us of many of our ailments.
That is why, real union with God is invariably accompanied by a deep joy which no external obstacles can remove. And so we can understand the insistence of Saint Paul—“Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I say, rejoice!”