I can remember cherished moments as a child turning the living room lights low on Christmas eve and sitting with a cup of hot chocolate before the nativity scene. I loved singing Christmas carols on that blessed evening, uniting myself in spirit to the angels who announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds over 2000 years ago. It was a magical moment for a child.

Rejoicing is the theme of today’s readings on this Gaudete Sunday. We are filled with joy, because the Lord is coming and is almost here! “God is the joy of my soul,” the prophet Isaiah says in the first reading. He truly is my joy, my God, my all.

The Liturgy of the Hours is an ancient form of prayer, prayed by priests, monks, nuns, and lay people all around the world. The Liturgy of the Hours is composed in a four week cycle, with prayers at multiple times of day. The most commonly prayed part of the Liturgy of the Hours are Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. Over the course of the four weeks, all 150 psalms are read, and many other prayers and pieces of scripture are included. As you might imagine, praying the same words in the same order, week after week, year after year, may begin to grow repetitive and a maybe a little bland, which is why any changes stand out.

In the Roman Missal, there are lines of scripture assigned to every Mass called “entrance antiphons” which can be spoken or chanted at the beginning of Mass in place of music. The entrance antiphon for the third week of Advent is: “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!” In Latin: Gaudete in Domino semper; iterum dico gaudete.

The Advent wreath has a rather mysterious origin. The tradition has taken many different forms over the years. The ring of lights originates in northern Europe, and likely began with the simple need to light the family dinner table during the long nights of winter. In Scandinavia, they had the tradition of arranging candles in a wheel, representing the changing of seasons from one year to the next. Separately, the tradition of wreath-making goes back to pre-Christian Greece and Rome, where circles of leaves and flowers were used to crown the victors in competitions and brides on their wedding day.

Here we are at the beginning of one of the most beautiful liturgical seasons, the season that anticipates the word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. I don’t know about you, but it is typically at the start of a new season that I try to give my spiritual life a little boost. I typically try to settle on one or two things that I will do to draw closer to the Lord. Then inevitably, two or three days in I am reminded of my weakness and failures.