Adult Faith Formation & Initiation

The third Sunday of Advent marks the midpoint of the season – in Catholic terms this is like “hump day” for the Advent Season where we can happily see the end of our Advent journey in sight.  Referred to as Gaudete Sunday , it takes its name from the Latin word for rejoice .  We will hear this word several times throughout this Sunday's Mass in our prayers and our readings.  We light the rose-colored candle on our Advent wreaths, rose-colored decorations, and perhaps even the priest wearing rose-colored vestments.  The rose color is a mixture of the violet of Advent and the white of Christmas.  Not only is Christmas a joyous occasion to celebrate the birth of our Lord, but it reminds us that we are joyous (not fearful) of his eventual return. The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11 Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 John 1:6-8, 19-28 We open with a great announcement from Third Isaiah, that the anointed brings glad tidings to the poor.  If his w

Prepare the way of the Lord!  Make straight his path!   This is the clarion call we receive for this 2nd Sunday of Advent.  “Preparation” is the message we are bombarded with through all sorts of advertising right now – to find the perfect gift, create the perfect meal, decorate the perfect home, all the while surrounded by the perfect sense of family.  Trouble is, when we seek this type of perfection, we often find ourselves disappointed.  Not only have we missed the point of the season, we’ve allowed the secular world to obfuscate our understanding of the Gospel message: The Word for the 2nd Sunday of Advent Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 2 Peter 3:8-14 Mark 1:1-8 We open with one of the finest songs of forgiveness and triumph from the Prophet Isaiah.  There is an established pattern in all our worship – that before we ask for something from God we first must ask him for forgiveness for our sins.  We see this every time we celebrate the Mass as we begin with the Peni