The 3rd Sunday of Advent, along with the 4th Sunday of Lent, are two of the most recognizable Sundays out of the year. Not because they are particularly significant solemnities, but because these are the 2 days out of the year when the rose vestments are worn. Or as many like to warmly chide the priest on, these are the days when father wears pink. The back and forth inevitably follows: It’s not pink, it’s rose; No, father, it really is pink. These two days and the banter that ensues is so common, that I’ve had to consciously keep it out of my homily, lest this remains what more people remember about the 3rd Sunday of Advent, it’s the day that father wears pink.
And yet, as is always the case, there are significant and long-standing reasons behind the chosen color of vestments. We wear red to recollect the sacrifice of the martyrs, or the fire of the Holy Spirit; White symbolizes the resurrection and purity of the life the saints; violet, while being a royal color, is a sign of penance (which may also be a reminder to us of the true nature of royalty); while blue is not a main color for vestments, it is used in honor of Mary the Blessed Ever-Virgin and Mother of God; Green is a sign of hope and life, a recollection of the message of Christ’s public ministry; Gold is a color of great celebration; and then there is the color of the 3rd Sunday of Advent.
One of the more beautiful Advent hymns comes from 15th century Germany: Lo How a Rose ‘er Blooming. In the midst of this season of desert and penance, the Church reminds us of the nearness of God’s promise of fulfillment. The hymn begins:
Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming ; From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, As men of old have sung.
It came, a flow’re bright, Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.
This image of the rose has come not only in a hymn, but in the reality of life. As last week we celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we recall how Mary led Juan Diego to a mountain desert, where in the cold of winter, the ground was covered in roses. But she was not the rose.
From the beginning of our faith, and even going back to the first promises announced by the prophets, the rose has been a sign and symbol of the coming Messiah, recognized to be Jesus Christ. Our Blessed Mother is always leading us toward Him, and presents the rose to us, not as a prideful act of drawing to her beauty, but to remind us of the source of her beauty.
In the midst of the seasons of Advent and Lent, the Church is giving us a sign of the promise and Christ’s presence. To be clothed in the color of the rose, is to be clothed in Christ. It reminds us that He is in our midst and constantly in our presence in hidden ways. And in times of worry, doubt or fear, it may also just remind us of the hope of promises from long ago.