The Advent of Change - Week 3: Joy
THE ADVENT OF CHANGE - WEEK 3
JOY: Rejoice, the Lord Is Near
Recognizing the Grace That Appears Before the Story Is Complete
Last week in Week 2 of The Advent of Change, we reflected on Peace, the interior clearing God prepares in us, so His grace has room to take root. Peace softens the ground. It steadies us in uncertainty. It makes space for something new to grow.
This week, we step into Advent’s third movement: Joy.
And here the Church, in her wisdom, does something profoundly beautiful.
Right in the middle of longing, in the middle of waiting, in the middle of what is not yet, she interrupts the somber violet with a burst of rose.
Welcome to Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent.
Gaudete means Rejoice.
Not because everything is resolved.
Not because the waiting is over.
But because the Lord is near.
The rose candle symbolizes joy breaking into the middle of the journey, not at the end of it. It reminds us:
• Joy can coexist with longing
• Joy arrives before clarity
• Joy appears because Christ is near, not because circumstances are perfect
This is the thread woven through this Sunday’s Scriptures:
• Isaiah promises deserts will bloom and weak knees will grow strong, before the transformation is visible
• James exhorts us to be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord is already at the threshold
• Matthew places us beside John the Baptist in prison, waiting, questioning, while Jesus points to signs of the Kingdom already unfolding
Joy is not naive.
Joy is not denial.
Joy is the fruit of God drawing near.
This is why the Church says: Rejoice now.
Joy is not the reward for arrival.
Joy is the grace that sustains us as we continue walking toward love.
And so the invitation of Week 3 is this:
To recognize the subtle places where joy is breaking through your life today
To allow joy to become a sign of God’s nearness
To receive joy as a gift offered in the waiting
WHAT JOY REALLY IS (AND WHAT IT IS NOT)
Before we talk about joy as a spiritual experience, we need to clarify something important, because joy is one of the most misunderstood realities of the Christian life.
Many of us grew up thinking happiness and joy are the same thing.
But Scripture and the lived experience of the saints tell us otherwise.
Happiness is circumstantial.
Joy is relational.
Happiness depends on what is happening.
Joy depends on Who is present.
Happiness rises and falls with our circumstances:
• a text message that brightens your morning
• the compliment that lifts your confidence
• a peaceful moment in the house
• things going according to plan
And just as quickly, happiness can evaporate:
• one stressful email
• a misunderstanding
• a child melting down
• a plan that collapses
Happiness is beautiful, but it is fragile.
Joy is different.
Joy is deeper.
Joy comes from God.
Joy does not require the circumstances to improve.
Joy can exist in places happiness cannot.
Happiness says:
"My day is good because everything is going my way."
Joy says:
"Today is hard, but I’m not alone, God is with me."
AN EVERYDAY EXAMPLE
Happiness:
A peaceful evening, dinner prepared, the house calm.
Joy:
The same evening, but your day has been overwhelming. You feel stretched, tired, discouraged.
Then something small but unmistakably grace filled happens:
• your spouse takes your hand
• a child leans quietly against you
• something in you softens
• you become aware of God’s nearness
Nothing external changed.
But you feel held. That is joy.
Another contrast:
Happiness:
A sunny day, good coffee, light conversation.
Joy:
A steady heart in a hospital waiting room, clarity rising after tears, feeling guided in uncertainty, hope without answers.
Happiness passes.
Joy endures.
Happiness shifts with emotion.
Joy anchors the soul.
Happiness visits.
Joy abides.
Joy is never the reward for the fulfilled promise.
Joy is the sign that God is already at work within us.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION: JOY IN THE MIDDLE OF UNCERTAINTY
(Matthew 11:2–11)
The Gospel for Gaudete Sunday places us inside a moment that looks nothing like joy.
John the Baptist is in prison.
His courage and fidelity have landed him in confinement and uncertainty.
From this darkness, he sends his disciples to Jesus with a startling question:
"Are you the One who is to come, or should we look for another?"
This is not faithlessness.
It is the question of someone longing for reassurance while the story remains unfinished.
Jesus responds with evidence:
• the blind regain their sight
• the lame walk
• lepers are cleansed
• the deaf hear
• the dead are raised
• the poor have good news proclaimed to them
These are the exact signs Isaiah foretold.
Joy begins not because John’s circumstances change, but because Christ’s identity is revealed within the uncertainty.
Christ reveals:
• John is the promised messenger
• Salvation is unfolding
• God is already acting in hidden ways
Joy does not wait for the story to be complete.
Joy begins when Christ reveals He is already present within it.
That is Gaudete joy.
That is the joy of knowing the Lord is near.
THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE OF JOY
How We Are Built to Receive It
Joy touches the mind, the emotions, the body, and our relational world.
1. Joy engages the emotional system
• eases tension
• deepens breath
• slows thoughts
• settles the heart
2. We are created to respond to goodness
• connection
• sincerity
• tenderness
• beauty
• gestures of love
Joy often begins as the quiet recognition:
"This moment matters."
3. Joy strengthens us from within
It expands our capacity to carry what is difficult.
4. Joy is tied to connection and meaning
We feel joy when we are:
• seen
• understood
• close to someone
• receiving kindness
• reconnecting with purpose
5. Joy reveals how fully human and fully held we are
Joy reminds us:
• we are limited yet capable of wonder
• wounded yet open to beauty
• emotional yet supported by grace
• temporal yet drawn toward eternity
PERSONAL STORY: JOY FOUND IN SELF GIFT
When I look back over the last several years, I notice something I didn’t always see before: joy has a way of finding me in the very places where love is poured out. Not in perfect moments, not in life going according to plan, but in the ordinary exchanges of presence, sacrifice, and self-gift.
My joy tends to appear in four places: my family, my friendships, my vocation, and the Lord Himself.
JOY IN MY FAMILY
Witnessing my oldest daughter become a wife and a mother—a beauty beyond words. To be present in those moments, to see her step into her vocation, truly feels like a slice of heaven.
Welcoming my two grandsons into the world, accompanying my daughter and son-in-law, and being part of the unfolding beauty of their family life—this has been an unearned joy that still moves me. Even the night feedings, the endless laundry, the sacrifice it asks—these are the places where love becomes tangible, and joy arrives quietly but powerfully.
Shopping for wedding dresses with my middle daughter, seeing her face light up as she recognized herself in the mirror—a joy rooted not in the dress, but in the young woman before me.
Working alongside my son during our home renovation, watching him flourish in his gifts as an architect—joy born from witnessing growth and seeing him become more fully who he is meant to be.
Ending each day with my husband, sharing 35 years of marriage built on fidelity, forgiveness, friendship, and grace—one of the greatest joys of my life. And perhaps the sweetest joy of all is having our whole family gathered at home for Christmas—everyone under one roof, filling the house with belonging, laughter, and warmth.
JOY IN MY FRIENDSHIPS
There is another place where joy continually surprises me: friendship.
“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.” (Sirach 6:14)
Joy in friendship rises quietly, in steady and faithful ways:
in the friend who listens without fixing
in shared laughter that softens a difficult day
in honest conversations that bring me back to myself
in the reliable presence of someone who walks with me through change
Some of my deepest joys have come through:
friends who encouraged me through my CPMAP journey
women who pray with me and keep my heart anchored in Christ
friends who celebrate my family’s milestones as if they were their own
those who understand my vocation, my hopes, and my struggles
Friendship has become one of the quiet shelters of my life—a place where joy settles, stays, and renews me.
JOY IN MY VOCATION AND WORK
Completing my CPMAP certification, after twenty-one months of study and clinical training—not for the achievement alone, but because it formed me to serve others more fully. Service is where my deepest joy always begins.
Accompanying engaged couples in Pre-Cana, standing at the threshold of their new vocation—joy that arises from walking with them into the sacrament of marriage. It is profoundly inspiring to see young couples eager to grow in faith and family within the Church.
Mentoring clients, being invited into the sacred interior landscape of their hearts—a privilege beyond measure. There is a quiet, sustaining joy that comes from witnessing courage, healing, and grace take root in someone’s life. And truly, when you love your work, it stops feeling like work. It becomes a calling that brings joy every single day.
JOY IN THE LORD — MY STRENGTH AND MY SOURCE
There is a fourth place where my joy finds its deepest root—my joy begins in the Lord.
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
This has become more real to me with each passing year. There have been seasons when happiness was nowhere to be found—yet joy remained because God remained.
I’ve learned:
Prayer is where my joy is renewed, not because circumstances change, but because I remember I am not alone.
The Holy Spirit is my constant companion, guiding and steadying my heart.
Jesus is my closest friend, the One who stays when no one else sees the weight I’m carrying.
God the Father is my shelter, who meets me with strength I never find on my own.
This is the joy that does not shift.
This is the joy that steadies everything else.
This is the joy that allows me to love freely—because I know I am held first.
Every joy in my life points back to this one: the Lord is near, and that nearness is my joy.
A SPIRITUAL INVITATION FOR THE WEEK
Joy rarely arrives with fireworks.
It enters quietly, often in the middle of everything unresolved.
Hold this question:
Where is joy already trying to meet you?
You do not create joy.
You notice it.
Look where:
• love asks something of you
• connection feels warm
• God surprises you with tenderness
• giving of yourself awakens something inside
If joy feels far away, that is okay.
Joy is not a demand.
Joy is not a performance.
Joy is a gift.
A simple prayer:
“Lord, help me not to miss the joy You are already giving me.”
Let joy surprise you.
CLOSING BLESSING
As you enter this week, may you not rush past the quiet places where joy is unfolding.
May you notice the small moments where Christ draws near.
May you experience, even for a breath, the joy that doesn’t depend on circumstances
but on the One who is with you in all things.
Joy does not wait for the story to be complete.
Joy begins right here, in the unfinished and the ordinary.
Because the Lord is near.
Next week, we move into the final movement of Advent, LOVE,
the love that fulfills every longing and becomes flesh among us.
Until then,
may joy accompany you, quietly, steadily, faithfully.
