Gaudate Sunday

Today is ‘Gaudete Sunday’, the invitation to be hope filled, and to know that belief in God, as our divine Saviour, is a source of Joy. The Prophet Zephaniah proclaims: ‘shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel shout aloud’, for we are loved, saved and redeemed by our Saviour. And St Paul reminds us, that what God wants for us is a deep, inner happiness. We are to approach Jesus in times of worry, in times of need, so that we may know and experience that peace and consolation that only God can give.
On Wednesday evening we will celebrate the love of God in our midst. Our Parish Penance Service will be an invitation to hear, believe and trust in the loving Mercy and forgiveness of God. Pope Francis reminds us “that God never tires of offering us His Mercy”.
God always takes the first step, what we call the ‘Divine Initiative’. Always coming forward to meet us, and we can acknowledge the beautiful words of the Act of Sorrow….‘O my God I thank you for loving me’, echoes of St. John and his writings, that God loved us first.
So, on Wednesday at 7.30pm in the Parish Church we will come together and acknowledge our common humanity, trusting the we come together before a loving and merciful God. On this Gaudete Sunday that is something to be joyful about!