Adult Track – Just Teach Sheet

December Week 3 (2025) – Gaudete Sunday
Theme: Advent & Preparation
Focus: Christian Joy, Hope, and Gaudete Sunday
Audience: Adults — practising, returning, or deepening faith

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Weekly Goal

To recover a robustly Catholic understanding of joy — not sentiment, optimism, or seasonal cheer, but joy rooted in truth.
Gaudete Sunday teaches that Christian joy flows from Christ’s nearness, from repentance already begun, and from hope in God’s promises even while life remains unfinished.

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What You’ll Need

This sheet

A Bible

Quiet time for reflection

Attendance at Sunday Mass, attentive to the Collect and readings

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Opening Prayer (Daily)

Lord Jesus Christ,
You are nearer to me than I realise.
Free me from false joys that fade,
restore the joy of Your salvation,
and teach me to rejoice in You
even while I still wait and struggle.
Amen.

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Day 1 – “Rejoice… The Lord Is Near”

Teaching
On Gaudete Sunday the Church interrupts Advent’s penitential tone with a command, not a suggestion: “Rejoice.”
This joy is grounded in a fact — the Lord is near — not in circumstances.

Philippians 4:4–5
“Rejoice in the Lord always… The Lord is near.”

CCC 524: “By sharing in the long preparation for the Saviour’s first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for His second coming.”

Theological Insight
Christian joy is eschatological: it flows from what God has done and what He has promised to complete.
It exists in the middle of waiting, not only at its end.

Reflection
Do I base my joy on God’s presence — or on things going well?

Practice
Today, pause briefly before each major task and whisper:

“The Lord is near.”

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Day 2 – Joy Is Not Happiness

Teaching
Happiness depends on health, success, and comfort.
Christian joy depends on communion with Christ — and therefore survives disappointment.

John 15:11
“That My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”

CCC 1832: “Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.”

Catholic Clarity
Joy is not denial of suffering.
The saints were joyful because they faced reality with God, not because they avoided it.

Reflection
Where have I confused distraction or pleasure with joy?

Practice
Identify one false source of “joy” that leaves you emptier afterward. Consciously relinquish it today.

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Day 3 – Repentance Restores Joy

Teaching
Scripture consistently links joy with repentance.
Sin corrodes joy; forgiveness restores it.

Psalm 51:12
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.”

CCC 1431: “Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life.”

Spiritual Truth
Gaudete Sunday does not cancel repentance — it confirms its fruit.
Where repentance is sincere, joy inevitably follows.

Reflection
Is there an unresolved sin or habit quietly draining my joy?

Practice
Make a sincere examination of conscience this evening. If possible, plan Confession before Christmas.

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Day 4 – Joy and Charity Belong Together

Teaching
Joy that remains private shrinks; joy given away grows.
Charity is not an optional extra — it is joy’s natural expression.

Acts 20:35
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

CCC 1829: Charity “demands beneficence and fraternal correction.”

Catholic Balance
Christian joy is never self-focused.
It overflows into patience, generosity, forgiveness, and service.

Reflection
Whom has God placed in my life as the recipient of Christ’s joy through me?

Practice
Perform one deliberate act of charity this week that costs you time or comfort.

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Day 5 – Joy Rooted in Hope

Teaching
Joy endures because hope endures.
Christian hope is not wishful thinking but confidence in God’s faithfulness.

Romans 15:13
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.”

CCC 1818: Hope sustains us in discouragement.

Spiritual Insight
Gaudete joy looks beyond Christmas — toward resurrection, judgment, and eternal life.
It is joy that knows the end of the story.

Reflection
Do I live as someone who believes God will finish what He has begun?

Practice
End the day praying slowly:

“Jesus, I trust You with what I cannot control.”

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Weekend Synthesis

Truth	Catholic Insight
Joy	Rooted in Christ’s nearness
Repentance	Clears the heart for joy
Charity	Allows joy to grow
Hope	Protects joy from despair
Gaudete	Joy breaking into waiting

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Apologetics for Adults

“Isn’t Christian joy unrealistic?”
→ No. It faces reality with God present within it.

“Why talk about joy when the world is broken?”
→ Because brokenness is not the final word.

“Why joy in a penitential season?”
→ Because repentance bears fruit, and that fruit is joy.

“Is joy a personality trait?”
→ No. It is a theological fruit produced by grace.

“Can joy coexist with suffering?”
→ Yes — the Cross and Resurrection stand together.

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Catechism Extension

CCC 524 – Joyful expectation in Advent

CCC 736 – The Holy Spirit gives joy

CCC 1430–1431 – Repentance and joy

CCC 1817–1821 – Hope

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Further Reading

Spe Salvi – Benedict XVI (on hope)

Evangelii Gaudium – Pope Francis (on Christian joy)

St Paul VI, Gaudete in Domino

Romano Guardini, Meditations Before Christmas

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Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,
You are the joy of my heart and the hope of my life.
Free me from false comforts,
restore the joy of Your salvation,
and teach me to rejoice in You
while I still wait and work and suffer.
Come, Lord Jesus —
You are near, and that is enough.
Amen.