Bulletin Greeting: December 14, 2025

Bulletin Greeting: December 14, 2025

I have always loved music. It can help us focus when we work or study, bring relaxation after a long day, or set the mood for a joyful summer drive with the windows down and the radio up. Music has a way of meeting us wherever we are: calm, burdened, excited, or hopeful. For nearly every moment of life there is a melody that resonates with the soul.

Dom Prosper Guéranger, a 19th-century Benedictine, once wrote that sacred music is the voice of the Church’s soul calling out to God. He recognized music’s unique power to stir the heart, to awaken emotion even in the most stoic listener. Like a beautifully composed piece with its rise and fall — the crescendo and decrescendo that give life and movement — our spiritual journey during Advent follows its own rhythm.

Today, the Third Sunday of Advent, marks a kind of crescendo. In the midst of our preparation and penance, the Church bids us to rejoice. This day is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin Gaudete — “Rejoice!” — taken from the entrance antiphon of Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice!” The rose candle and vestments stand as visible signs of this joy.

Our readings overflow with this theme. Isaiah speaks of the people returning from exile, “crowned with everlasting joy.” St. Paul echoes that same call to rejoice. Even James reminds us with hope that the Lord’s coming is near.

The world around us may feel hectic, heavy, or chaotic, but joy rises even there; not mere cheerfulness, but the deep gladness that knows God is drawing close. As we continue our Advent preparation, may this Sunday lift our hearts like a crescendo in a great symphony. Let us rejoice, for the Lord is near!