THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT – CYCLE C – 2018  

-          This third Sunday of Advent has traditionally been called Gaudete, from the first Latin word of the entrance antiphon of the Mass.  Gaudete means rejoice.  

-          Joy because Christmas is now at hand.   

-          The celebration of the beginning of our salvation, the birth of Jesus, the Son of God made man in the womb of the Virgin Mary.  

-          Joy because every year we understand a little bit better, what it means that the Word was made flesh.  

-          Let us contemplate the message the readings bring to us. 

FIRST READING

Who is Zephaniah? And what is his message?  

v  He is a  prophet during the kinship of Josiah, the King who restored the true worship, the fidelity to the covenant, the morality among the people of Israel. 

v  Josiah was a King of  Judah, the Southern Kingdom.   

v  He died in battle, and this event discouraged the people, because they understood the death of the king as abandonment from God. The king had worked for the honor of God and now God allowed the enemies to kill the king.   

v  Thus, they went back to the pagan cult and customs. 

v  Zephaniah is the prophet who has reflected and deepened more than any other in the true meaning of the fidelity to the covenant.   

o   Fidelity not made of laws, of fulfilment, but fidelity from the heart, from the truth of every human being before God.   

o   Fidelity made of   relationship with God and with the other human beings.   

o   Zephaniah goes to the root of what causes the sin.   

o   For him the day of Yahweh will be a day of destruction of sin, of burning like in a crucible all the evil, which surrounds the human heart, like gold is purified in the crucible.   

o   But this is not the end, afterwards salvation will come and the rest that will remain will live in humble fidelity.   

ZEPHANIAH 3:14-18

Ø  Zion, Jerusalem, is invited to shout with joy, to celebrate.  

Ø  Why? Because the Lord has driven out the oppressors, and he is “Your God who lives in your midst.” 

Ø  When this things happen, the Lord, will not only be in you, but he will rejoice because of you. 

Ø  God will rejoice over each one of us, because He, who has created us, loves us with a love without limits, unconditional, that does whatever it takes to attract us to him, so that we may be able to rejoice with his love and his peace.   How wonderful are these words!

Ø  It will be a day of celebration, because he will remove from us the sadness and the shame.  

Ø  We are also invited to rejoice, to leap for joy, our salvation has come, and now,   through the liturgy,  we make  his grace among us. 

Ø  Let us be filled with joy, God has come among us, and he continues to live in our midst and within each one of us.   

RESPONSORIAL PSALM:   Is 12:2-6

R.   Cry out with joy and gladness:

for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. Cry out with joy and gladness:

for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. Cry out with joy and gladness:

for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. Cry out with joy and gladness:

for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

• This week the responsorial psalm is taken from the book of the Prophet Isaiah.
• More than a psalm it is a hymn. 

SECOND READING   Phillippians  4:4-7

§  We are invited to be joyful in the Lord. 

§  That our kindness be visible. If it is true kindness it will be visible.  

§  All of this because the Lord is near, and this is the cause of joy and kindness in our life.  

§  Let us hand over to the Lord our worries, He takes care of us. 

§  The fruit   will be peace.

GOSPEL LUKE 3:10-18

 Last week Luke introduced to us John who was preaching near the river Jordan.      

His message is the answer to three questions and it is also a call to cultivate three attitudes in our life:  

v  The crowds, the people asked: what do we have to do?   

o   Share what you have, it is an attitude of fraternal love with everyone.  

v  The tax collectors, that is those in public office, want also to know 

o   Do not demand,  do not ask more than what is required by the law. Do not steal, do not defraud , it is an attitude of fulfilling our duties honestly, as simple and true human beings.    

v  The soldiers, the man dedicated to war, to defend the country want to know also:  

o   Do not abuse, do not denounce,  do not use your power to oppress.    

v  We can say that what John is telling them is to live their life serving and loving  their neighbors. This will be also the message of Jesus.  

v  Let us do the same, this will be the best preparation, not only for Christmas, but also to go to meet the Lord when he calls us. 

v  John announces the presence of Jesus, as the one whom John is not worthy to untie his sandals.   

v  He will baptize in the Holy Spirit and fire. His baptism will take possession of  our being, like the fire that burns the wood. 

v  This is the way of John to preach the good news.  

 CLARETIAN CORNER

 After 8 days of my profession, the profession of my sisters followed who with my profession felt my fervent. They were mine.

 A few days after my profession, my prelate commanded me in virtue of holy obedience, to organize the original points of the Order, which I wrote in the year 1848, commanding me to write them more extensively as God our Lord had revealed to me to be His Most Holy Will. I was deeply affected by this command, but there was no means to find an excuse. And he told me to do it soon, that when he would come back from the Holy Visit, he would work to send them to Rome. . María Antonia París, Foundress, Autobiography 227-28.

Furthermore, I see that those who are pushing, striving, and begging for these jobs, positions, and preferments, without sparing bribes and other such wiles, are usually the very ones who least deserve them. May God deliver me from ever cooperating in a business that has such evil consequences: all the jobs ill-done, all the deserving and virtuous people passed over, all the pedantry, vice, and immorality enthroned—and all of it by the wicked hand of favor. Yes, I say it, and I say it loudly and clearly, hoping that everyone will take notice and leave me in peace: I have no interest in such things. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder, Autobiography 627.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, Anthony Mary. Autobiography.

PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiography  

RAVASI, Gianfranco. Según las Escrituras-Año C. San Pablo 2005.

SCHÖKEL , Luis Alonso, La Biblia de nuestro Pueblo.

SAGRADA BIBLIA, Versión Oficial de la Conferencia Episcopal Española.

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