VICAR
Today, Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I’d like to draw your thoughts away from the Sunday newspapers and Brexit, away from the Christmas To Do List and mince pies, away from your daily worries and towards today, the 3rd Sunday of Advent.
For today is a day to rejoice. Gaudete Sunday. Not just a day for happiness but one for joy.
What’s the difference?
Theologian Henri Nouwen described the difference between joy and happiness. While happiness is dependent on external conditions, joy is “the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing – sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death – can take that love away.” Thus joy can be present even in the midst of sadness.
I ask You to be joyful today. Look around at the positives. Get excited about the future and prepare for Christmas mentally as well as materially, joyfully.
Have a wonderful Sunday and a peaceful week. God bless You and Your family.
“With our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind, with our whole strength and fortitude, with our whole understanding, with all our powers, with every effort, every affection, every feeling, every desire and wish, let us love the Lord God. Who has given and gives to each one of us our whole body, our whole soul and our whole life, who has created, redeemed and will save us by His mercy alone, Who did and does everything good for us.”
Advent and Christmas Wisdom from St. Francis of Assisi