 The first word of the Mass of Gaudete Sunday, read in every Catholic Church this morning, sounds the keynote of our faith. It is the Latin word Gaudete which, being translated, means Rejoice. It is a striking paradox that the religion of the cross is at one and the same time the religion of joy. The solution of this paradox lies essentially in the fact that Christianity is a religion of love, and in this world love and sorrow are linked by a mysterious partnership. Christianity is no worshiper of pain, nor is asceticism an offering to a pain-loving God as if life and health were not God's good gifts. Much rather is Christianity a form of love, and love, being the root of joy, it follows that the practice of the Christian religion gives joy, not in spite of its cross, but rather as its natural consequence. For we are taught from earliest childhood as an elementary truth that man is on this earth for the one end of perfecting himself in the love of God. We know likewise that only through labor, pain, and sacrifice is love perfecting. The penitential colors of Advent today give way to the rose-colored vestments of joy. The solemn notes of preparation give way to the jubilant sound of organ music. Holy Mother Church chooses as her liturgical station today the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles in the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, where today we hear the only voice of peace and joy in a world that verges upon war. Here today is heard the echo of Peter's voice in the person of his successor who is teaching us the lesson of Gaudete Sunday, namely that all joy and peace can come only through Christ, who first suffered and died before entering into his glory. In the Advent Gospel of the Mass we read, there hath stood one in the midst of you whom you know not. How applicable are these words of St. John the Baptist to the present day? Christ stands in the midst of this civilization. His mystical body is the Church. In the midst of a world that is seeking joy and peace, Christ stands awaiting the visit of nations. On this day of Advent, God grant that the peace of Christ in the reign of Christ may take hold of the earth, that our sorrow may be turned into joy. Dear Savior of men, teach me to place all my confidence not in the wisdom of men but in the foolishness of the cross. Alas, men promise material joy and they give us but ashes of defeat. You have promised us a cross, which is but the prelude to the crown. Teach us, blessed Savior, that there is peace of soul, joy of spirit, and eternal repose and contentment only in the Christian way of life. Grant us the grace to follow you on the Via de la Rosa, that it may become the cause of our joy. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.