As we begin the Third Week of Advent, we anticipate Christmas, and so we ask Christ to grant us His grace that we might be prepared for welcoming His Birth. Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, marks a traditional turning point in this period of preparation, and we see it visually in the Advent wreath. Not only do we light more candles than we leave unlit for the first time in Advent—thus providing more light, symbolizing the light of Christ—but if our Advent wreath has a rose or pink candle, that’s the one that we light this week. The purple candles of the first two weeks (and of the fourth week) are symbols of penance, but the rose candle is a symbol of our coming joy.
3RD WEEK PRAYER3RD PRAYER: : (Light 2 purple candles and 1 pink)
Incline Thine ear to our prayers, O Lord, we beseech Thee; and make bright the darkness of our minds by the grace of Thy visitation. Who lives and reigns, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy
