Music Notes for the Third Sunday Advent
John Michniewicz

Sunday Dec. 14th, 2025, the Third Sunday of Advent, is known as Gaudete Sunday. This Sunday is a kind of joyful pause within the penitential focus of Advent, with the name Gaudete meaning “rejoice.”

• The readings emphasize hope, comfort, and the establishment of God’s kingdom, with the First Reading (Isaiah 35) foretelling healing and restoration, and the Gospel (Matthew 11) showing Jesus’ fulfillment of these prophecies.
• The Entrance and Final hymns focus on the theme of rejoicing: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (with its refrain “Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel, shall come to you,” and Marty Haugen’s “Awake, Awake and Greet the New Morn” with its uplifting hymntune named: “REJOICE, REJOICE”.
• At the 11:30 Mass, the Choir will present selecctions that embody anticipation and rejoicing: Paul Manz’s “E’en so Lord Jesus, Quickly Come” and Allan Robert Petker’s “Prepare the Way,” based on a traditional Swedish Advent hymn.
• Sunday’s Communion hymn “My Soul in Stillness Waits” by Marty Haugen highlights the theme of patiently waiting and anticipation, with each verse focusing on a different title for the coming Christ.

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Music Notes for the Third Sunday Advent John Michniewicz

The Third Sunday of Advent, falling this year on December 14, 2025, is also known as Gaudete Sunday. The Latin word gaudete means “rejoice,” and the name Gaudete Sunday comes from the appointed liturgical opening antiphon, which begins with “Gaudete in Domino semper,” meaning: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Gaudete Sunday is a kind of joyful pause during the penitential season of Advent, signaling that Christmas and the coming of Christ are near. This joyful tone is also emphasized by the priest’s wearing rose or pink colored vestments, as well as the lighting of a rose or pink candle on the Advent wreath (instead of the darker purple on the other Sundays of Advent). The readings focus on hope, comfort, and the establishment of God’s kingdom as announced by John the Baptist.

The First Reading, Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10, contains a beautiful prophecy of hope, healing, and restoration for the land and the people. The desert will bloom, and those who are fearful will be comforted. It foretells the coming of the Savior who will bring healing: sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. The reading provides the vision of the kingdom that the Messiah will bring—a time of joy, healing and salvation.

Psalm 146 serves to reinforce this idea, with the responsorial refrain forming a petition, “Lord, come and save us.” This Psalm is a hymn of praise to God, who is the protector and champion

of the poor, the oppressed, the blind, and the afflicted. It emphasizes God’s faithfulness and justice.

In the Second Reading, James 5:7-10, there is an exhortation to patience and faithfulness, while believers await the Lord’s coming. James uses the analogy of a farmer patiently awaiting the harvest and cites the prophets as models of endurance. This reading tells believers how to live during the time of waiting—above all with patient and firm hearts, because “the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

In the Gospel reading, Matthew 11:2-11, John the Baptist, in prison, sends his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Jesus replies by citing his actions, which directly fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah. Jesus then affirms John as the greatest prophet, the one sent to prepare the way. Jesus is shown to be the fulfillment of the prophetic hope given in the First Reading, Isaiah 35: “the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.”

Once again this Sunday, in our opening hymn, we turn to one of the most recognizable Advent hymns: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” (W-386). The hymn features a repeated refrain, “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel,” making it a wonderful choice for “Gaudete Sunday.” This hymn shows the strong hope for the coming of the Messiah that is a clear Advent focus. The plea for Christ to “ransom captive Israel” by showing and teaching “the path of knowledge” exemplifies the hope and restoration promised in Isaiah 35 leading to the call to “Rejoice!”

O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel

that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.

Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel shall come to you, O Israel.

O come, O Wisdom from on high, who ordered all things mightily;

to us the path of knowledge show

and teach us in its ways to go. Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might, who to your tribes on Sinai’s height

in ancient times did give the law

in cloud and majesty and awe. Refrain

During the Presentation at the 11:30 Mass, the choir will sing Paul Manz’s well-known anthem, “E’en so Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.” Paul Manz, 1919-2009, was an American composer, organist and professor. After study on a Fulbright Grant in Belgium and Germany, Manz served prominent Lutheran Churches in Minneapolis and Chicago, and was a Professor of Church Music at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. The anthem was composed in 1953, and later rose to prominence with its featured inclusion during broadcasts of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College, Cambridge, England. Manz wrote “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come” during a time when his three-year-old son was critically ill. Reflecting on the time, his wife, Ruth Manz stated, “I think we’d reached the point where we felt that time was certainly running out so we committed it to the Lord and said: ‘Lord Jesus, quickly come.'” During this time, she had prepared some text for Paul for a composition based on the Book of Revelation. While at his son’s bedside, Paul Manz began drafting the composition. Their son did recover, which the couple attributed to the power of prayer. The text of the anthem is based on Revelation 22. The anthem embodies the sense of waiting and anticipation found in Sunday’s Second Reading from James 5, and is a direct petition for the Lord’s coming. It also features the idea of rejoicing, appropriate for Gaudete Sunday: “Rejoice in heaven, all ye that dwell within.

Rejoice on earth, ye saints below.”

Here is a link to a performance by the National Lutheran Choir at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXtcU4NuVJs

E’en So Lord Jesus, Quickly Come –Paul Manz Peace be to you, and grace from him,

Who freed us from our sins,

Who loved us all, and shed his blood, That we might saved be.

Sing “Holy, Holy” to our Lord, The Lord, Almighty God,

Who was, and is, and is to come. Sing “Holy, Holy, Lord.”

Rejoice in heaven, all ye that dwell within. Rejoice on earth, ye saints below.

For Christ is coming, is coming soon, For Christ is coming soon.

E’en so, Lord Jesus, quickly come, And night shall be no more.

They need no light, nor lamp, nor sun, For Christ will be their All!

During Communion, the featured hymn is “My Soul in Stillness Waits,” W-404. It is an Advent hymn by the well known American liturgical composer, Marty Haugen. Published in 1982 the text is based on Psalm 62:5, “For you alone, O Lord, I wait in stillness,” and the Medieval “O Antiphons” that formed the basis for the hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Haugen wrote both the lyrics and the chant-like reflective melody to evoke the waiting and anticipation of the Advent season. Further, following the “O Antiphons,” each verse focuses on a different name and character of the coming Christ: “O Lord of Light,” “O Spring of Joy,” “O Root of Life,” “O Key of Knowledge.” The text further highlights the theme of hope throughout the hymn, for example, Jesus Christ is referred to in the first verse as “our only hope of glory.” Similarly, “our song of hope” centers on Jesus Christ, as “our hope of glory,” as well as “we are a people of hope” and “we know Christ to be our only hope,” in verse 2. Verse 3 states that “our only hope is Jesus Christ” and in verse 4 we see that: “Jesus Christ is the hope of God’s world.”

Here is a touching performance of My Soul in Stillness waits by the Notre Dame Newman Centre in the Newman University Church in Dublin, Ireland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5d6Ngf-nDM

At the 11:30 Mass, the choir will sing “Prepare the Way” by Allan Robert Petker. It is based on a Swedish Advent hymn Bereden väg för Herran, attributed to Frans Mikael Franzén (1771-1847). This traditional tune is majestic and robust, conveying the importance of the call to prepare.

Petker is a San Pedro, California based composer with over 250 published compositions. His anthem, “Prepare the Way” features a strong and rhythmic piano accompaniment that contributes a joyful feeling of rejoicing based on the original Swedish hymn. The sense of joy culminates in the third line of the final verse “All lands will bow rejoicing, Their adoration voicing.” Echoing John the Baptist’s message in Matthew 11, the text is a reminder of Christ’s rule of peace, freedom, justice, truth and love. The hymn calls to “make straight” the paths, greet the one who comes in glory, and rejoice!

Here is a link to “Prepare the Way:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RbvkH6-Zc0 Prepare the Way, O Zion, Your Christ is drawing near!

Let every hill and valley a level way appear.

Greet One who comes in glory, Foretold in sacred story. O blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

Christ brings God’s rule, O Zion; He comes from heaven above. His rule is peace and freedom, and justice, truth and love.

Lift high your praise resounding, for grace and joy abounding. O blest is Christ that came, in God’s most holy name.

Fling wide Your gates, O Zion; Your Savior’s rule embrace. And tidings of salvation proclaim in every place.

All lands will bow rejoicing, Their adoration voicing. O blest is Christ that came in God’s most holy name.

Sunday’s final hymn is “Awake, Awake and Greet the New Morn” (W-406) also by Marty Haugen. It is a joyful and jubilant hymn, composed in 1983. The hymn has a hopeful text based on passages from Isaiah and Matthew. It highlights the fact that Christ’s coming kingdom will end hatred and blindness and use love as a guiding force. Haugen named the tune: “REJOICE, REJOICE,” further emphasizing the uplifting nature of this Advent hymn.

Awake! Awake, and greet the new morn, for angels herald its dawning.

Sing out your joy, for soon he is born, behold! the Child of our longing.

Come as a baby weak and poor, to bring all hearts together,

he opens wide the heav’nly door and lives now inside us forever.

 

To us, to all in sorrow and fear, Emmanuel comes a-singing,

his humble song is quiet and near, yet fills the earth with its ringing; music to heal the broken soul

and hymns of lovingkindness, the thunder of his anthems roll

to shatter all hatred and blindness.

 

In darkest night his coming shall be, when all the world is despairing,

as morning light so quiet and free, so warm and gentle and caring.

Then shall the mute break forth in song, the lame shall leap in wonder,

the weak be raised above the strong, and weapons be broken asunder.

 

Rejoice, rejoice, take heart in the night, though dark the winter and cheerless, the rising sun shall crown you with light, be strong and loving and fearless.

Love be our song and love our prayer and love our endless story;

may God fill ev’ry day we share and bring us at last into glory.

Here is a link to a performance by the St. Olaf Choir, from Northfield MN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28AvhFwyWAI

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaudete_Sunday https://www.catholicextension.org/stories/what-is-gaudete-sunday/ https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/advent/advent-prayers.html#o-antiphons https://sfarch.org/rejoice-the-history-and-hope-of-o-come-o-come-emmanuel/# https://hymnary.org/text/o_come_o_come_emmanuel_and_ransom# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Antiphons https://hymnary.org/tune/veni_emmanuel_chant#google_vignette https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Manz https://allsaintskingston.co.uk/anthems/een-so-lord-jesus-quickly-come https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E%27en_So,_Lord_Jesus,_Quickly_Come https://www.google.com/search?q=my+soul+in+stillness+waits%2C+haugen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RbvkH6-Zc0

https://www.google.com/search?q=backround+awake%2C+awake+and+greet+the+new+morn https://www.sovlutheran.org/blog/awake-awake-and-greet-the-new-morn#:~:text=The%20lyrics

%20to%20%E2%80%9CAwake%2C%20and%20Greet%20the,dependent%20on%20how%20t hings%20look%20around%20us.