If we truly want to be happy then it is as simple as this, that we remain steadfast and faithful to the Gospel that is to the Word and Will of God our Heavenly Father.
And we should resist and abstain from those who have negative influence over us. Who encourages to sin and to be tempted by the ways of the world! This is not to say that we do not sit with sinners but rather if we cannot influence them to draw close to the Lord and follow His commands then we should not be the ones to fall under their influence.
Stay Awake! That is our call at the start of Advent, we are already quickly drawing close to the start of the 3rd Week this Gaudete Sunday where we rejoice a little in hope of His 2nd coming.
Thank You Jesus for loving us, for having already come into the world so that we can live free in Your light. Help us draw ever closer to You this Advent so that our happiness will be like a river this Christmas! Amen
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First reading
Isaiah 48:17-19 ·
If you had been alert to my commandments, your happiness would have been like a river
Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you,
I lead you in the way that you must go.
If only you had been alert to my commandments,
your happiness would have been like a river,
your integrity like the waves of the sea.
Your children would have been numbered like the sand,
your descendants as many as its grains.
Never would your name have been cut off or blotted out before me.
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Gospel
Matthew 11:16-19
They heed neither John nor the Son of Man
Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place:
“We played the pipes for you,
and you wouldn’t dance;
we sang dirges,
and you wouldn’t be mourners.”
‘For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.’
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