Sunday of the Third Week of Advent (Rose Sunday)

Teresa-21Today’s Thought from Scripture:  Isaiah 35:6, 10

“For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and the streams in the desert… And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

 Rose Sunday is my favorite day of Advent – it’s also known as “Laudate (Joy) Sunday.” I love to invite women from different parts of my life over to the house for tea and cake, a kind of mini-retreat, a time to pause from the frenetic activity and give thanks for all the ways God has blessed us in the past year. Sometimes it’s an elaborate event in a church hall – other times a simple affair at the dining room table. But I dust off my china, whip up my “Advent Cake,” and send out the invites – and even those simple gestures make me thankful for all those friends, seen and unseen, who make my life more joyful simply for having been in it.

“Do small things with great joy and love,” said St. Teresa (and Therese of Lisieux before her). What do you do during Advent to restore your joy?

 Lord Jesus, you are the cause of all joy.

We praise you for your many blessings,

and thank you for your faithfulness to our family.

Help us to be courageous and joyful

in the choices we make each day,

to serve and love you better.

St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!

To read the full readings for today, click here.

Advent Reflections Courtesy of:

heidi-2013Heidi is a wife and adoptive mother, contributing writer to WINE, and author of Advent with Saint Teresa of Calcutta and the follow-up companion, Lent with Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Servant, released January 2017). Heidi received a graduate degree in theology from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit in 2012, having converted to the Catholic faith in 1995 from the evangelical tradition. She met her husband, Craig, at the University of Michigan Ballroom Dance Club, and lives with her family (including two special-needs teenagers, a longsuffering Aussie shepherd and a snuggly Chiweenie) near South Bend, Indiana.