Third Sunday of Advent Prayer: To have hope

Here is the prayer for the third Sunday of Advent. That´s right, we are already in the Third Sunday of Advent. This Advent Sunday is also known as Gaudete Sunday, which in Latin means "Rejoice", it is the Sunday of joy. In the liturgy of the Mass this Sunday we find readings that invite us to joy in the Lord, to remain constant in prayer and to be grateful to Him

Third Sunday of Advent.

Joy is a central factor of this Third Sunday of Advent, but it is that true joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, from waiting for the One who is our hope, Jesus Christ. That Messiah who wants to be born in our hearts, renew our lives and give us an everlasting joy that comes from meeting Him.

In this time of preparation for Christmas, in the streets and stores we see an atmosphere of consumerism, gifts, celebrations, a "joy" that in reality has little to do with the Lord and much to do with satisfying material desires and filling needs, which in the end, always leave us empty.

At the same time, the Church calls us to go against the current, in this Advent season she invites us to deepen in the true joy, that which is one and full and comes from Jesus, who needs nothing to be completed, who has everything and is capable of totally satisfying the heart of the Human Being. 

Prayer on Gaudete Sunday

May this Gaudete Sunday be a wonderful occasion for us as a family to meditate on the true joy that is Jesus Christ, source of all our hope. Let us worship with the Church "the Lord who is coming" with this precious prayer for Gaudete Sunday.

To live the family liturgy of the third Sunday of Advent, it is recommended to put in a special place the crown with some image of the Virgin, to create an atmosphere of recollection with little light.

The readings can be distributed beforehand among the members of the family, and can be exchanged each of the 4 Sundays so that everyone participates actively. It is significant that the role of Guide is played by the Father or by both parents together.

Prayer for the Third Sunday of Advent

In the prayer of the Third Sunday of Advent, we allow the immense joy of receiving the Child God to come into our hearts and be a true joy. We prepare ourselves in a minute of silence and gather to have this dialogue with the Lord.

Sign of the Cross: By the Sign of the Holy Cross, from our enemies, deliver us Lord our God. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Leader: "Our help is in the name of the Lord".

All: "Who made heaven and earth".

Leader: "In the days of Advent, we remember our wait for the Lord´s deliverance. We always need His salvation. Around this crown we will remember His promise.

Reading from 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13.

Leader: "May the Lord fill you and make you overflow with mutual love and love for all, just as we love you. And thus may he strengthen you inwardly, so that when Jesus our Lord returns with all his saints, you may present yourselves holy and blameless before God our Father" - Word of God.

All: "We praise you Lord".

Reading of the Letter to the Philippians 4:4-5.

"Be always glad in the Lord; I repeat, be always glad. Let your moderation be known to all. The Lord is near". Word of God.

All: "We praise you Lord".

It is time to light the Advent Wreath. Three candles are lit on this occasion, the first two that were lit in the previous weeks plus the new candle that corresponds to the third Sunday of Advent.

Leader: "Let us bless the Lord".

All: (making the sign of the cross) while saying: "Let us thank God".

Leader: "We remember the virtue of Hope".

Reading: To Bethlehem: The Virgin travels again, far from her family and friends, she obeys the command of the emperor... In Bethlehem, she and St. Joseph find nothing but rejection. Everything seems to go very wrong... At least some marriages have been divorced. But they do not lose hope.

There is no Christmas without suffering, without the test and the overcoming of selfishness. Christian hope overcomes everything. It is not negative resignation. It does everything possible to improve difficult situations. It does not lose sight of God who makes himself present in the humble and faithful heart.

Now all the members of the family take a time of silence to interiorize in everything read. Then they include a time of intercession where they ask for the needs of the family and each member, their acquaintances, the Church and the whole world.

All: Pray an Our Father and a Hail Mary.

Leader: You are seeing, Lord, how your people await with faith the feast of the birth of your Son; grant that we may reach Christmas, a feast of joy and salvation, and be able to celebrate it with overflowing joy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.

All: "Amen".

With much joy on this Sunday of Gaudete, we give each other a hug, giving us peace. The prayer of the third Sunday of Advent that we have meditated, is to receive that joy from God by keeping our hope alive.

Prayer for every Sunday of Advent.

In the prayer for the third Sunday of Advent we allow that living tenderness of the love of the Child Jesus to take up residence in the heart of each one of us. We prepare ourselves with joy on this Sunday of Gaudete and continue to prepare the ground of our lives so that God may continue to reign forever. Hope is a virtue that each one of us must harvest. There is SOMEONE who is waiting for us to share with us the delights of Heaven. A Child God has descended to us to lead us with hope into the True Light, a Light that radiates peace and joy forever. The prayer of the third Sunday of Advent, besides being the Sunday of Joy, comes with the virtue of hope, a virtue that comes to sow peace in the heart as we wait for the love of the Child Jesus.