Today is the third Sunday of the Advent season, known as Gaudete Sunday, which means Sunday of Joy. Today's readings really speak to us of great joy as we await the coming of the Lord.

“The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers and rejoice with joyful song.” (Is 35:1)

The joy of the good news that Jesus brings is palpable in the scriptures, but, is it really palpable in my life? Do I reflect joy in my daily life, the joy of knowing I am loved by God?

Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation The Joy of the Gospel, tells us that the joy of the Gospel fills the heart and the whole life of those who encounter Jesus.

We still have 2 weeks until Christmas. It is like when we experience the excitement of waiting for the visit of a loved one, on how we prepare the house and how we cannot wait for the day to come. Likewise, may the joy that invades us for the coming of Jesus help us to prepare ourselves to receive Him.

Christmas is coming, the Savior of the world is coming. With Mary, in the devotion of Guadalupe, and with all the saints and prophets, let us await his arrival filled with love, joy, charity, and, above all, filled with compassion and understanding for others.

The poem "Marcha Triunfal", by the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío, begins by saying: "The courtship is coming! The courtship is coming! The clear bugles are already heard, the sword is announced with vivid reflection; It is coming, gold and iron, the procession of the paladins."

I think this poem could say today: "Love is coming! Love is coming! The clear bugles are already heard, His arrival is announced with vivid reflection; the Word made flesh is coming, the Savior of all mankind."

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