Gaudete Sunday and Joy
The Third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday of joy. Dr. Karla Bellinger spoke to the Catholic Foundation Legacy Dinner this fall about joy. Here are a few thoughts from that talk.
The joy of God is all around us. Sometimes we miss it. Last night, I saw the glittering of the stars and the radiance of the full moon. It was glorious! How about the smell of cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven? How does the Lord inspire us in the sound of music and the chirping of birds? God’s joy surrounds us. He says in the first chapter of Genesis, “This is good!” as though to say, I am Creator, look around you, and rejoice!
Joy comes in relationships, both young and old: in the celebration of a long 99-year-old life, in the happiness of an eight-month-old baby learning to eat while spilling biscuits all over the floor in the newfound wonder of food. God said that this is all very good (Genesis 1:31)! Jesus prayed that “my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). The Holy Spirit bubbles up within each of us to rejoice in this wonderful world. In the Sunday readings, the Lord says, “I am near! I am joy and wonder and beauty; join in my joy!”
And yet somehow, joy has gotten messed up. It is as though God put together a glorious jigsaw puzzle of all of these little pieces and then a labrador retriever came into the room and wagged his tail so hard that all of the pieces got jumbled up and some dropped under the coffee table and others were forever lost under the carpet. And what was whole has become a disastrous mess. The world is not as God created it to be. We don’t need to dwell on how broken our world is; trouble smacks us in the face all the time. Thank you, God, for free will. What have we done with it?
But look! The Lord says to you and to me, “Could you help me to put it back together how it should be?” Each of us is given our own piece of the puzzle to help to put it in place. Some of you have a mission in education or healthcare or leadership education. Each of us is working on his or her piece to the puzzle in our own sphere of influence. The God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is here, with us now. To have a mission is to have a purpose. To be on a mission is a source of joy. We are faithfully called to work with the piece of the puzzle that we are called to.
Let me share with you the mission that I am on. I tell people that I specialize in homiletics. People say, what is homiletics? Maybe it is home goods – sheets, towels, pillowcases? I am a woman, so naturally, I should do something with home goods, right? Homiletics has to do with the homily. A homiletician, which I am, is someone who studies and teaches homiletics. I am a teacher of preaching – I work to help Catholic preachers to flourish. I teach priests and deacons how to bring our people closer to God through that little tiny string of words from the pulpit in the midst of a Catholic liturgy.
Three years ago, this puzzle piece was blank in Dallas, starting from nothing. It was just a vision that we need to do something about Catholic preaching. Many of you have been a part of that mission. I am most grateful for you for picking up this piece and making the Institute for Homiletics a reality. Wow. That is a joy!
What we have found in the last three years is that the people in the pew really care about better preaching. At the Eucharistic Congress in July, we passed out almost two thousand prayer cards for parishioners to pray for their homilist. It all starts with prayer; if things aren’t going well in the homily, pull out that prayer and pray. One woman came by the booth after reading the prayer and said, “I’ll take thirty of those for my whole prayer group!” We wondered, what was the preaching like at her parish?
Our Preaching for Encounter program has four components: teaching retreats, monthly coaching, peer groups in their home diocese, and lay support groups called the “Saint Joseph’s Preachers.” There is power in the pulpit. In 7-10 minutes, a priest or deacon or bishop of abbot can impact lives forever – both positively and negatively. It is such a joy when the Good News is preached!
Let me share comments that we have heard. A parishioner said this to a deacon in our program: “From the words that you preached at [ ] funeral – my nephew is considering come back to the church.” From a lay supporter about her pastor: “He used to be good, now he’s very, very good.” From a new preacher: “This program was just what I needed as I have been learning to preach.” And from a priest in an email to us yesterday: “Thank you for all your work and prayer in improving preaching. My St. Joseph’s homily feedback group continues, almost weekly at our parish with my brother priests and me, as we gather with 4 to 6 parishioners. The volunteers have become more direct and honest with their comments. The bar has been raised.”
It is my joy to work with clergy on their preaching. This summer, we sent off the first graduating cohort of 42 from Green Bay, Victoria, and Dallas. We welcomed in a new group of 46 from Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Joliet, San Antonio, and Gary. God is good!
We’ve got the first of our programs in place. Our preachers have grown. We’ve got “proof of product” and we have data to say, it works! Now, as an Institute, we are looking to spread this good news and expand and grow. And what a joy that will be.
Bubble up among us, Holy Spirit. Fill us with your joy!