Gaudete Sunday...

He is near

The Third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday because of the first word “Rejoice” in the Introit or entrance antiphon of Sunday’s Liturgy taken from Philippians 4:4-6

Rejoice (Gaudete) in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice.  Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh.

 Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.

Today we light the third candle which is rose colored to signify joy. We're past the half way point to the birth of our Lord and Savior.

Joining my happy little Nativity is a dear little kitteh.  I was poking around Amazon to see if I could find a donkey or cow for my vintage Italian Nativity since I only have two sheep.

I decided the ones I found were all too expensive. But I happened upon these sweet teeny animal figures by Schleich.   And, of course, the kittehs caught my eye. So a sweet little kitteh fit my budget and my sensibilities and came to adore Christ.

The Nativity figures have been in our family for over 70 years and are hand painted in Italy.  They were sold, believe it or not, in many dime stores.  They are quite beautiful.

The Wise Men were made by my mother shortly before she died at age 69. They were made on a sculpting frame, draped in glue soaked fabric, and then painted gold.