The 3rd Sunday of Advent, December 13, is called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete means “rejoice”. We rejoice because we are almost at Christmas, the day where we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the greatest gift we have ever been given. St. John Paul II began a tradition where he invited the children of Rome to assemble in St. Peter’s Square on the Third Sunday of Advent. He asked them to bring their little statue of the baby Jesus that would be placed in their Nativity set at home. John Paul II blessed the figurines of those present . Both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have continued the tradition, and in recent years it has started to expand to other places outside of Rome. This year we would like to celebrate this tradition with our St. Michael the Archangel families.