(Third Sunday of Advent (B): This homily was given at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. on December 15, 1996 by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24.)

"Rejoicing: a Decision."

I know it happened in December. I believe it was in 1977, my junior year at Providence College: Several young women died in a tragic fire that took place in Aquinas Hall on the P.C. campus. As I recall, during the very same month, of the very same year, all the members of a basketball team from a college out in the midwest were killed in a plane crash. Since I’ve been here in Westerly, there have been several tragedies during the month of December, the last of which was a car accident (a week ago Friday, during the unexpected snowstorm), which left one 19 year-old dead, and a 39 year-old man in critical condition at Westerly Hospital. I celebrated the funeral mass for that 19 year-old young man this past Tuesday.

"Thank you, Fr. Ray, for the depressing news! That’s just what we needed!"

Well, my intention here is not to drive anyone into despair. Far from it. My intention is to make a point: Don’t you find it ironic? . . .At this supposedly joyful time of year, it’s relatively easy for most people to find things to be sad about. I would say that one of the most frequently uttered sentences during the month of December is this one: "It’s a difficult time of year for me." "It’s a difficult time of year for me because (fill in the blank--my friend or relative died recently, I just lost my job, my children won’t be home for the holidays, whatever)." In fact, I’m sure everyone in this church right now could come up with at least one personal reason for being unhappy at this time of year.

The Holy Spirit, of course, is well aware of this fact. So what does the Spirit say to us and to Catholics throughout the world on this, the third Sunday of Advent? The Spirit says, "Rejoice. . . . Even if you have 1,155 reasons to be sad, rejoice! Even if you have twice as many reasons to be depressed, rejoice!!!"

Now the logical response to that divine command is the question, "How?" (It’s certainly the question I would ask.) "Dear Holy Spirit, thank you very much, but how is that possible? With all the reasons I have to be sad, rejoicing seems to be exactly the opposite--it seems impossible." To that, the Holy Spirit, would respond, "Well, my friend, that’s why I’m God and you’re not. The fact is, you can rejoice always. That’s what I told you to do in today’s second reading from 1 Thessalonians 5, and I never command people to do anything that’s impossible. With my grace, all things are possible."

Then the Holy Spirit might direct us to read a book on the subject like the one written by Fr. George Kosicki. (You see Fr. Kosicki quite a bit on EWTN.) And specifically, the Spirit might point us to this paragraph from that book: a paragraph where Fr. Kosicki makes an important distinction--the distinction between "feeling joy" and "rejoicing." Here’s what he says,

That distinction, my brothers and sisters, makes all the difference! That’s why, at the funeral on Tuesday, I said to the family and friends of Dennis Connell (the 19 year-old man killed in that recent car accident) . . . I said to them that, in the midst of the deep pain they’re experiencing, they have a great opportunity--an opportunity to appreciate the meaning of Christmas more deeply than ever before! You see, most people think that Christmas is about presents and parties and lights. But Christmas is not about that. Christmas is about salvation! As St. John tells us in his gospel: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son."

Christmas is about God becoming man to suffer, die and rise from the dead for us, so that we could receive forgiveness for our sins and live forever with him.

I said to the people at that funeral: "You have experienced a great loss. But if you focus on Jesus, you can rejoice during this season. You can rejoice in hope--in the hope that Dennis is now experiencing the life that Jesus Christ came into this world on Christmas day to give us."