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By Fr. Patrick Briscoe, OP, Aleteia, 12/11/20

If we are not sufficiently dour, are we betraying those who are suffering?

Rejoice!

This year Gaudete Sunday (the Advent Sunday of rejoicing as the feast of Christmas draws near) seems a bit hollow.

Restrictions on our festive gatherings, questions about Christmas worship, loss of loved ones, frustrations at work … the world seems so heavy. The annual November Health and Healthcare Gallup poll shows the struggle many are facing. Americans’ rating of their mental health as “excellent or good” dropped nine points to this year’s 76% rating.

Despite the acceleration of cases of the Coronavirus in the United States and elsewhere, we have to ask: How is our rejoicing real? How can it be authentic?

The Joy of my soul

The prophet Isaiah, no stranger to suffering, announces, “I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul.”  This is a joy that can never be taken from us. As Christians, the Lord alone is the deepest joy of our soul.   …

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