"I feel like the rose candle" my friend said. Confused, I asked her to clarify. Looking down the pew, she explained that she was the only one wearing white, while the other four of us were dressed in dark colors. "Well, that means you are the joyous one then!"
For the duration of the funeral mass we were attending, I contemplated the significance of the rose colored candle. Our reason for being at that mass was a somber one. We were celebrating the life of a young man who passed away at what many would consider to be a young age. It was apparent that many in the church were not Catholic, but they gathered in this unfamiliar place because the loss of their friend and family member caused a stirring within them - a stirring to come and honor him. I am sure that many of them were not aware that the approaching Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, was Gaudete Sunday – a time to rejoice, and that rose color candle was a symbol of that rejoicing.
Looking at the gospel reading on the first Sunday of Advent, Jesus brings awareness to his disciples that there will be signs: signs that there is something to come. He also warns them to be vigilant, and not to be caught up in the anxieties of every day life.
On the second Sunday of Advent, the gospel presents one of those signs: A voice calls out in the desert! John the Baptist goes throughout the land telling everyone to prepare the way!
This third Sunday, we rejoice! We have been made aware of signs, and instructed to prepare, but what do we do? This is the question from the crowd to John the Baptist. This Gaudete Sunday, we rejoice in the news that someone is coming. Jesus is the fulfillment of the signs. He is the one who will walk the path that has been cleared by John, and He is mightier than we could imagine.
As the mourning of the family was brought to rejoicing, so do we rejoice in the knowledge that the Messiah is coming to save us from death. This is why we rejoice. This Gaudete Sunday, let us take some time to notice that rose candle, and rejoice!