3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT 

 

 

Rejoice in the Lord.

 

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.

PENITENTIAL RITE

St Paul exhorts us to rejoice always. What prevent us from rejoicing are our sins and selfishness. To the people who asked him what should they do to be saved, the Baptist counselled to share their possessions. To rejoice, to be at peace, let us be sorry for our sins and ask the Lord’s pardon. (Pause.)

I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault (all strike their breast) in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray. Lord God, may we, your people, who look forward to the birthday of Christ experience the joy of salvation and celebrate that feast with love and thanksgiving. We ask this…

FIRST READING

(The Lord assures his people that he is present with them and that his presence will bring them joy.)

A reading from the book of Zephaniah

(3:14-18)

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: "Do not fear, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival."

This is the Word of the Lord

psalm (Is 12)

Response: Shout and sing for joy, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. R.

Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name; make known his deeds among the nations, proclaim that his name is exalted. R.

Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitants of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. R.

Second reading

(St Paul urges the Philippians to be joyful and peaceable.)

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians (4:4-7)

Brethren: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This is the Word of the Lord

ACCLAMATION (Lk 4:18)

Alleluia, alleluia! The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor. Alleluia!

GOSPEL

(As a preparation to welcome the Lord John the Baptist tells the people to be in good relationship with one another.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to St Luke (3:10-18)

The multitudes asked John, "What then shall we do?" And he answered them, "He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than is appointed you." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."

As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people.

This is the Gospel of the Lord

I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/Creator of heaven and earth./I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./Amen.

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, following the teachings of St Paul, in gratitude and humble prayer, let us make known to our heavenly Father our requests saying: Lord, graciously hear our prayer.

1. Let us pray for all Church authorities: in the exercise of their offices may they have the attitude of John: he must increase, I must decrease. R.

2. We pray for those who are away from the Church and the sacrament of joy and peace: Lord, may they realize you are a merciful Father. R.

3. Let us remember those who experience great bitterness and hardships in life. Father lighten their burden and bring cheer into their lives.

R.

4. May our deceased sisters and brothers be freed of their sufferings and may they be admitted to the realm of eternal joy and peace. R.

(Pause to pray for other intentions.)

Cel: Father, the source of our joy and the crowning of our happiness, we thank and praise you for our capacity for joy. Grant us that we may always rejoice in you. We ask this…

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Lord, may the gift we offer in faith and love be a continual sacrifice in your honour and truly become our eucharist and our salvation. We ask this...

Preface ( P1)

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When he humbled himself to come among us as a man, he fulfilled the plan you formed long ago and opened for us the way to salvation.

Now we watch for the day, hoping that the salvation promised us will be ours when Christ our Lord will come again in his glory.

And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON

Say to the anxious: be strong and fear not, our God will come to save us.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

God of mercy, may this eucharist bring us your divine help, free us from our sins, and prepare us for the birthday of our Saviour, who is Lord for ever and ever.

LITURGY AND LIFE

Peace and joy are the two main themes of today’s celebration. They are two major advent themes as well. The source of our joy is Jesus and it is Jesus who can give us the peace that surpasses every other peace.

There is a story of an Irishman who died suddenly and went up for divine judgement, feeling extremely uneasy. He didn’t think he had done much good on earth! There was a queue ahead of him, so he settled down to look and listen. After consulting his book, Christ said to the first man in the queue: ‘I see here that I was hungry and you gave me to eat. Good man! Go to heaven.’ To the second he said: ‘I was thirsty and you gave me to drink,’ and to the third: ‘I was in prison and you visited me.’ And so it went on. As each man ahead of him was sent to heaven the Irishman examined his conscience and felt he had a great deal to fear. He’d never given anyone food or drink, he hadn’t visited prisoners or the sick. Then his turn came. Trembling he watched Christ examining the book. Then Christ looked up and said: ‘Well, there’s not much written here, but you did do something: I was sad and discouraged and depressed; you came and told me funny stories, made me laugh and cheered me up. Get along to heaven.’

Today’s first reading is an invitation to exultant joy. This joy is a response to the joy of God who rejoices over the people. It is also a response to his presence among them. The call to joy is followed by the message of salvation. The message of salvation is that God has removed the enemies of Israel and is in her midst as her king and saving warrior. This presence of God within Israel assures her of security, prosperity and peace.

St Paul repeatedly asks the Philippians to rejoice. The reason for rejoicing is the nearness of the Lord. In fact the Lord is close at hand. When the Lord is experienced as a close reality there is no room for anxiety about anything. And then it is easy to be forbearing. We are asked to rejoice in the Lord. When the mind and heart are involved in rejoicing in the Lord anxious and angry thoughts are held at bay. When negative thoughts crop up one easily turns to God in prayer, in supplication as well as in thanksgiving. In such a joyful and prayerful atmosphere one enjoys peace, a peace beyond human comprehension.

St John the Baptist is a paragon of Christian joy. He is happy with what he is. So he is not ambitious for what he is not, craving for higher positions. He is happy with what he has and is. Even in his mother’s womb he leapt for joy. Later on he compares himself to the friend of the bridegroom taking delight in the happiness of the bridegroom. ‘He who has the bride is the bridegroom, the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice; therefore the joy of mine is great’ (Jn 3:29-31).

To grieve with the grieving is easier than to rejoice with those who rejoice. This requires the spirit of the Lord which is the be-all and the end-all of christian spirituality.

December 2003

CALENDAR 

Psalter Week 3

15/Mon (V) Num 24:2-7, 15-17a; Ps 24; Mt 21:23-27

16/Tue (V) Zeph 3:1-2, 9-13; Ps 33; Mt 21:28-32

17/Wed (V) Gen 49:2, 8-10; Ps 71; Mt 1:1-17

18/Thu (V) Jer 23:5-8; Ps 71; Mt 1:18-24

19/Fri (V) Jdg 13:2-7, 24-25a; Ps 70; Lk 1:5-25

20/Sat (V) Is 7:10-14; Ps 23; Lk 1:26-38