Peace be with you! A blessed #LaudatoSiSunday everyone.

Today is Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent. In the Gospel, we hear John the Baptist saying: ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’. (John 1:23)

Making straight the way of the Lord is to accept him without hesitation and with the right preparation, we are welcoming him with open arms. But how?

St. Paul gives us some tips: rejoice, pray unceasingly, thank the Lord for everything, live by the Spirit, listen to and act on the will of the Father, choose what is good, and avoid what is evil.

We know that from the very beginning, Jesus has been with us as the Word, and the Word made flesh, and until now, strengthened by the fire of the Holy Spirit as we prepare for His “kingdom of justice, peace, love, and beauty” (LS, 246).

Let us all bear witness and carry the light of faith by joyfully following the teachings of the Gospel, in love and compassion as we are all sisters and brothers with all of God’s creation. In Laudato Si’ passage 236, Pope Francis reminds us that the “Lord, in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. He comes not from above, but from within, he comes that we might find him in this world of ours.”

And now, what must we do? In Laudato Si’ passage 9, The Holy Father tells us what to do as Christians: “We are also called ‘to accept the world as a sacrament of communion, as a way of sharing with God and our neighbors on a global scale.”

“Gaudete in Domino semper!” (Phil. 4:4)

Let us all rejoice in the Lord always for he was, is, and will always be!