Advent wreath · Third Sunday
Third Sunday of Advent: Lighting the Wreath (Joy)
Light the rose candle of the Advent wreath, the candle of joy, on Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, December 13, 2026
On the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, December 13, 2026, the family lights both violet candles, then the rose one, the candle of joy.
This is the lighting of the Advent wreath, for the Third Sunday of Advent. Pray it alone, or with everyone at home. Gather around the wreath, or around any candle.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today has an old Latin name, Gaudete. It means rejoice. We are more than halfway to Christmas, and the Church lets joy break through the waiting. So tonight’s candle is different. If your wreath has a rose candle, it is lit tonight. In many homes it is called the candle of joy.
Listen to the word of the Lord from today’s Gospel, from John, chapter one. John the Baptist tells the crowd: “there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not.”
If you have a wreath, light the first two candles, and then the third.
Take your time.
Three flames now. Look at the third one, rose-colored in many wreaths. Joy does not wait until everything is finished. It comes because He is already close.
Christmas joy is not only for the good days. If you are praying with others, tell one of them, out loud, one good thing God has given you this year. If you are alone, say it to Him.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Lord Jesus, You are already standing among us, even when we do not see You. Some nights joy is hard to find. Give us Your joy then, the kind that does not depend on how the year has gone. Remember those who have little joy this December. Let this house be a glad place tonight, and let some of that gladness reach someone who needs it. Come, Lord Jesus, and do not delay. Amen.
Let us make the sign of the cross. May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Below is the AngelGuard app’s own prayer for lighting the wreath that evening, printed in full: the Sign of the Cross, John the Baptist’s words from the Sunday Gospel (John 1:26), a moment for each person to name, out loud, a gift God gave them this year, the Our Father and a closing prayer for joy. It takes about four minutes.
Go deeper
Third Sunday of Advent 2026: December 13, Gaudete Sunday
1 min readThe Third Sunday of Advent is December 13, 2026, the day the rose candle of the wreath is lit for joy.
The Third Sunday of Advent is December 13, 2026, the day the rose candle of the wreath is lit for joy.
Its Latin name, Gaudete, means “rejoice”: the Mass that morning opens with St. Paul’s “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). The Church is past the middle of Advent, and for one Sunday it lets gladness show; some priests wear rose that day, and the candle on the family table does the same.
The Gospel at Mass, John 1:6–8, 19–28 in Year B, has priests and Levites come from Jerusalem to ask John the Baptist who he is. He is not the Christ, he tells them, nor Elijah, nor the prophet; he is only a voice. Then he says that the one they are waiting for is already standing among them, unrecognized. The wreath prayer takes that line, and its closing prayer builds on it: joy does not have to wait for Christmas, because Christ is already near.
For why the candle and the vestments are rose, the readings for every year and other ways to keep the day, see our page on Gaudete Sunday.
Lighting the rose candle as a family
1 min readOn Gaudete Sunday the wreath prayer has each person name aloud something good God gave them in the past year, which makes it the easiest of the four for children to join.
On Gaudete Sunday the wreath prayer has each person name aloud something good God gave them in the past year, which makes it the easiest of the four for children to join.
- Light the rose candle third. First both violet candles from the first two Sundays, then the rose one. If all your candles are violet, light the third and let the prayer carry the joy.
- Go around the table. Let the youngest start; their answers are often the best. A parent can go last and name something about the family itself. In a year of loss, a small good thing is enough. Gaudete is not only for good years; its joy rests on Christ being near.
- Remember someone. The closing prayer asks for “those who have little joy this December.” Name one of them, aloud or in your heart, and think of one small way to bring that person some gladness this week.
- Praying alone? The prayer has words for that too: tell your good thing to God, however small it is.
On the weeknights that follow, light all three candles again at dinner, with the Advent prayer for each day.
The wreath prayers for the other Sundays of Advent
1 min readThe Advent wreath has a prayer for each of its four Sundays, and each one lights one candle more than the week before.
The Advent wreath has a prayer for each of its four Sundays, and each one lights one candle more than the week before.
- First Sunday, November 29: the blessing of the wreath and the candle of hope.
- Second Sunday, December 6: the candle of peace and John the Baptist in the desert.
- Fourth Sunday, December 20: the candle of love, the last before Christmas.
Our Advent wreath guide lays out the four candles Sunday by Sunday, with the 2026 dates and a page to print.
Questions
What is the prayer for the third Sunday of Advent?
On Gaudete Sunday, December 13, 2026, a family lights both violet candles and the rose candle and prays for joy. The prayer on this page reads John the Baptist’s words from John 1:26, “there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not,” invites each person to name a good gift of the year, and ends with the Our Father and a prayer for joy.
What if our Advent wreath has no pink candle?
Light the third candle anyway. Plenty of wreaths have four violet candles, and the prayer does not change: the joy of Gaudete Sunday is in its Gospel and its words, not in the color of the wax. Pink is the everyday word; the Church’s word is rose.
Do you light the pink candle third or fourth?
Third. The rose candle is lit on the Third Sunday of Advent, after the violet ones of the First and Second Sundays. The last violet candle is lit on the Fourth Sunday.
What does Gaudete mean?
Rejoice. It is the Latin word that opens that Sunday’s Mass, in St. Paul’s line “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).
What is the Gospel for the third Sunday of Advent in 2026?
John 1:6–8, 19–28, in Year B of the Sunday readings. Priests and Levites come from Jerusalem to ask John the Baptist who he is; he answers that he is not the Christ, only a voice, and that the one they are waiting for already stands among them.
A prayer from AngelGuard · the app’s wreath lighting; Gospel in the Douay-Rheims
Guided narration · How it’s made
Upcoming · Oct 28
Sts. Simon and Jude
See the full liturgical calendar — every feast this year, and an embed for your parish site.