Advent Hinges On Joy: A Meditation on the Gaudete Introit, by Daniel B. Gallagher

By Daniel B. Gallagher, Catholic Exchange, Dec. 15, 2025

Daniel B. Gallagher, a Lecturer in Literature and Philosophy at Ralston College, holds degrees in philosophy and theology from the Catholic University of America and the Pontifical Gregorian University. Prior to teaching at Notre Dame and Cornell, Professor Gallagher had worked on the secretarial staffs of Popes Benedict XVI and Francis as an English and Latin specialist.

My family still celebrates St. Nicholas day on December 6^th, a tradition my wife and I inherited from our parents. Our kids wake up to shoes stuffed with goodies brought by the holy 4^th-century bishop. As they grow older, they will begin to understand the reason Nicholas practiced such generosity towards children and the poor: his belief that Jesus is one-in-substance with the Father, a truth Nicholas vigorously defended at the Council of Nicaea—the anniversary of which Pope Leo just commemorated in Turkey. It astonishes me how naturally children connect past, present, and future, even from the youngest age: a man who lived almost two millennia ago just came to our house last night, and he’ll come again in a few weeks.

Connecting past, present, and future is precisely what we grown-ups do in this holy season of Advent: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born in Bethlehem two millennia ago, He comes to us now in the Eucharist, and He will come again in glory at the end of time. …

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