By Deacon Franz Fruehwald • Posted December 12, 2025

This weekend we celebrate Gaudete Sunday as we light the rose-colored candle on the Advent wreath. Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice.” We are invited to pause in the midst of Advent’s watchful waiting and rejoice, to be filled with the joy that the celebration of Christ’s birth is drawing near.

In the first reading this Sunday we hear Isaiah proclaim to those that are outcast and waiting for the Lord, that they will meet Him with everlasting joy and gladness. In the Gospel, John the Baptist proclaims his hope in Christ even as he is imprisoned for his faith.

Joy does not simply happen to us. It grows where there is space cleared by humility, softened by thankfulness, widened by compassion. True joy rises in a heart that has let go of resentments, the need to control everything and the seemingly relentless busyness that we experience at this time of year.

The joy of Advent also reminds us that Christ is already present, in our ordinary daily lives, when we learn how to slow down enough to remove the obstacles and distractions that separate us from Him.

Gaudete Sunday invites us to look at our lives—to recognize that God is not distant. He is the God who draws near, the God with us, the God among us.

This week let us not just feel joy but also actively share it by practicing gratitude and patience, by offering mercy and forgiveness, by restoring a relationship that has been damaged or by noticing someone who feels unseen.

In spreading joy, we prepare the way for Christ’s coming—both into the world and into human hearts.

As we continue our Advent journey let us ask God to lighten our burdens, strengthen our hope, and teach us to wait with hearts full of trust in the birth of our Savior.

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Deacon Franz Fruehwald is a permanent deacon at Queen of Peace Parish in Ardsley.