Joyfully hold firm our Hearts – Third Sunday of Advent 2025
On this Third Sunday of Advent, we turn our attention to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the third major location for the celebration of the Dehonian Jubilee, from where we share with you this meditation by Mr. MUHINDO MUTEMI, President of the Dehonian Laity in the DRC.
The Third Sunday of Advent, also called the Sunday of Joy, expressed by the Latin word “Gaudete” which means “rejoice,” marks a joyful pause in the season of Advent, because the Lord is near. This Sunday emphasizes deep joy and the anticipation of Christ, inviting us, through the day’s readings, to conversion, generosity, and acts of justice.
This joy announced by the prophet Isaiah in the first reading is fulfilled in the Gospel:
“He himself will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy,” prophesies Isaiah.
To the messengers of John the Baptist, who wanted to know if He was the true Messiah or if they should await another, Christ answers with the fulfillment of this prophecy of Isaiah:
“Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind recover their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them.”
Indeed, there is no greater joy for a blind person than to see, for a mute person than to speak, for a lame person than to walk, and for a leper than to be cleansed. This is a message of comfort and joy that Jesus wants to convey to us on this Sunday of Joy (Gaudete), in the face of the miseries we have long endured.
In reality, when the wait for an announced joy is long, there is reason to be discouraged and impatient because of the suffering endured. This is why Saint James, in the second reading, calls us to patience while awaiting the coming of the Lord, just like a farmer who patiently waits for the precious produce of the earth until he receives the early and the late rain. He calls us to take as our model the endurance and patience of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Our Gaudete is an early harvest that allows us to enter into the great harvest, which is the Nativity.
May our miseries not be a cause for our impatience, for God Himself is coming and will save us; let us hold firm our hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
