A Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent

+ Gaudete in Domino semper, the Introit of this Mass sings. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything let your requests be made known to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.” This Introit contains all but one verse of the Epistle, which continues St Paul’s letter to the Philippians where the Introit leaves off: “And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Where is Advent here? Why are we rejoicing in rose-coloured vestments? [I am sorry that our new “LIDL” vestments have not yet arrived—there seems to be a delay due to the unprecedented demand!] Why this rejoicing in this season of penance and preparation, so poignantly underlined by St John the Baptist in this morning’s Gospel? Why should we rejoice in the Lord always, when our own sins and the evils present in the world about us, and in Church, give us more reason to weep bitterly and to do penance?

We can begin to understand this if we consider St Paul a little. He addressed this exhortation to the Philippians most probably during one of his own periods of imprisonment and at a time when Christians may themselves could rightly fear similar sanctions, or even martyrdom. In addition, St Paul firmly believed that the Second Coming of Christ would occur imminently—hence he would write with expectation to the Romans that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (8:18).

For St Paul, the Lord was coming, and coming very soon, once and for all to consummate the victory over sin and death that is His glorious resurrection from the dead. Little else—persecution, imprisonment, martyrdom—mattered. One thing was necessary: joyful perseverance in the faith. Hence could insist that we rejoice in the Lord always. Hence he could teach that “the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

It is precisely here that we, who await the coming of the Lord both at the end of our lives here on this earth, and definitively at the end of the world, the day nor the hour of which it is given to us to know (cf. Mt 25:13), are plunged directly into the meaning of Advent. For our waiting for the Lord this Advent is not to be one of fear and trembling, but one of hope and of joy—no matter what troubles afflict us in our earthly existence. Regardless of illness or other distress, of worldly failure, destitution or derision, in spite even of being misunderstood or marginalised by princes or pastors of the Church, we can and must rejoice, making our needs known to God in fervent prayer and supplication without anxiety and rejoicing nevertheless, because—as St Paul insists—nothing is able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (cf. Rom. 8:39) that has been given to us at our Baptism. For the “advent”—the coming—of the Lord this Christmas (and at our death and the end of the world) is an occasion for the ultimate rejoicing. It heralds our salvation from all that oppresses us and binds us.

But let us be very careful here. We are already well into the season where Advent and even Christmas carols and other sentimental trappings of the season massage our minds and consciences with soft and consoling thoughts of the Saviour of the World being born to right everything. That is true, of course. But the salvation Christ comes to bring is offered to man, not forced upon him. Our Lord came to save us freely, not to take us prisoner!

That is to say two things. Firstly, the belief that salvation is universal—that everyone is saved—is false. It is one of the most pernicious and dangerous tricks of the devil in our day in which this season and the coming feast are exploited to anaesthetise people into believing that somehow, regardless of their faith or lack of it, and regardless of their works, all people will be brought to heaven in the end (and that therefore hell is empty and eternal damnation is not a possibility). This heresy is refuted by the entire missionary history of the Church beginning from the apostles themselves and by the blood of countless martyrs. We must actively guard against its seductive spread today.

The second thing to say is that salvation requires our perseverance in faith in Jesus Christ as the unique saviour of mankind and in the good works that are the fruit of that faith. Yes, we are weak and have doubts. Yes, we sin and fall back into old ways. But with the grace of God given to us in the Sacraments, particularly in the Sacrament of Confession, healing and perseverance is possible. To enjoy the salvation Christ came to bring I must belong to Him and cling to Him no matter what arrives. I must be faithful to Him, even if, like St Peter, when I hear His call I must confess my utter unworthiness: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8).

As we prepare for the coming feast let us be very careful, for only in avoiding this trap of the devil and in persevering in the True Faith and in good works shall we truly enjoy “the peace of God, which passes all understanding,” which “will keep [our] hearts and…minds in Christ Jesus” this Christmas, and for eternity. +