Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In today’s Gospel, Peter and Andrew were in the midst of their daily work when the Lord invited them to come and follow Him. As we likely know, Peter and Andrew were fishermen, and their method of fishing is much different than what we are familiar with. They were not kicking back on a boat with a rod and a reel. Rather, they used large, heavy, and weighted nets that would sink to the bottom of the sea. Once the nets had been in the water for a long period of time, the men would then use their physical strength to pull them up along with any fish that were trapped inside. As you can imagine, this was a very laborious act that involved great physical strength, but not a lot of intellectual acuity. Peter and Andrew were likely not the most educated men.

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Today’s Sunday is commonly referred to as, “Gaudete Sunday.” It acquired this nickname from the first words of the Latin Introit (or the Entrance Antiphon): Gaudete in Domino semper - Rejoice in the Lord always! For the past two Sundays we have heard a beautiful dialogue between God and His people through the antiphons. On the first Sunday of Advent, the antiphon expressed humanity crying out to God begging Him for a Savior. On the second Sunday of Advent, the antiphon reflected God’s response to humanity’s cry, promising that a Savior is on the way. Today, the third Sunday of Advent, we are given the command to rejoice in response to God’s promise that a Savior is coming. For this reason, the deacon and priest both wear the color rose. Rose symbolizes the joyful anticipation of the new life that will come with our Messiah. It is a part of our faithfulness to the command to rejoice at the news of the coming of Jesus.

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In 1972, after a very interesting decade in the 20th century, a young German priest, theologian, and University professor by the name of Fr. Joseph Ratzinger was asked to write an essay answering the question, “Why I am Still in the Church.” In his essay he used the image of the moon to explain his response to the question.

The moon, as the young Fr. Ratzinger explained, represents the world of men, the earthly world, the world that receives its identity and fruitfulness from somewhere else: from the sun. The light of the moon is borrowed light. It’s light is not its own, but rather the light of another.

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When I was in college, a few months before I entered the seminary, I made a retreat with the Carmelite sisters in Los Angeles. During my visit, I had an opportunity to have a beautiful spiritual conversation with Sr. Angus Marie, a solemnly professed religious sister of over 50 years. In that conversation, Sr. Angus Marie and I discussed the importance of the virtue of humility in the Christian life. I'll never forget her words of wisdom. She said, "Humility... that's a tricky one. Just when you think you've got it, you just lost it!"

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