TERCER DOMINGO DE ADVIENTO 2024

Queridos hermanos y hermanas:

Este domingo encenderemos en la iglesia la tercera vela, la de color rosado, que nos recuerda lo cerca que estamos de celebrar el nacimiento de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, que vino a visitar nuestro mundo y salvarnos de todos nuestros pecados. Permítanme hacerles algunas preguntas: ¿Alguna vez has tenido alguna razón para estar muy alegre? ¿Cómo se siente una persona cuando está a punto de sucederle un acontecimiento importante en su vida? Piensa en tu primera cita, en tus quince años, en tu primera comunión, el día de tu boda, el día que empezaste a trabajar, cuando compraste tu primer coche o tu primera casa. ¿Cómo te sentiste en ese momento? Posiblemente te sentiste nervioso, pero también muy alegre por lo que estaba a punto de suceder. Del mismo modo, nosotros también nos sentimos muy alegres hoy porque esperamos la pronta venida de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo.

Hoy se nos invita a alegrarnos en Dios y a reconocer cuán maravilloso y grande es su amor por nosotros. Digamos que esta alegría proviene de nuestra estrecha relación con Jesús y va más allá de si sonreímos o no. Se trata de una alegría verdadera que brota de nuestro interior y proviene de sabernos y sentirnos amados por Dios. Sabemos, mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, que hay muchas personas que ríen y fingen ser felices, pero no tienen verdadera alegría en su vida. Esta alegría viene de Jesús y no puede ser destruida por ninguna circunstancia adversa, porque su verdadera fuente es Dios y no nosotros mismos. Por último, permítanme decir que esta alegría no proviene de nuestros bienes materiales ni de las personas que tengamos a nuestro favor, sino de nuestro Dios. ¿Crees que tienes ese tipo de alegría en tu vida?

El profeta Sofonías invita a Sion a llenarse de alegría y a dar gritos de júbilo, porque el Señor se ha acordado de ella y vendrá a salvarla. San Pablo nos invita a estar siempre alegres, a orar sin cesar y a dar gracias a Dios en todo momento. Lo que Isaías proclama maravillosamente en la primera lectura se cumple en Jesús. En el Evangelio, la gente le pregunta a Juan: «¿Qué debemos hacer?». Para prepararnos para la venida del Mesías, él los invitó al arrepentimiento de sus pecados y al bautismo, pero también a compartir lo que tenían con los más necesitados, a ser justos y honestos en todo, a no extorsionar ni denunciar falsamente a nadie y a conformarse con su justo salario.

Creo, mis queridos hermanos, que esos mismos principios se aplican a nosotros aquí y ahora, y que cada uno debe hacerse la misma pregunta: ¿qué debo hacer para preparar mi corazón para recibir al Señor?, ¿hay algún cambio que necesite hacer en mi vida para ser un ser humano mejor? Al acercarnos a la Navidad del Señor, pensemos por un momento: ¿para quién o para qué estamos preparando nuestros corazones? ¿Cuáles son nuestras expectativas en esta Navidad? No olvidemos que estamos preparando nuestro corazón para recibir a nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Amén.

P. Luis Segura M.S.C.

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THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT 2024

Dear brothers and sisters:

This Sunday we will light the third candle in church, the pink one, which reminds us how close we are to celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to visit our world and save us from all our sins. Let me ask you a few questions: Have you ever had any reason to be very happy? How does a person feel when an important event is about to happen in their life? Think about your first date, your fifteenth birthday, your first communion, your wedding day, the day you started working, when you bought your first car or your first house. How did you feel at that moment? You may have felt nervous, but also very happy about what was about to happen. In the same way, we too feel very happy today because we await the soon coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today we are invited to rejoice in God and to recognize how wonderful and great is his love for us. Let us say that this joy comes from our close relationship with Jesus and goes beyond whether we smile or not. It is a true joy that springs from within us and comes from knowing and feeling that we are loved by God. We know, my dear brothers and sisters, that there are many people who laugh and pretend to be happy, but they do not have true joy in their lives. This joy comes from Jesus and cannot be destroyed by any adverse circumstance, because its true source is God and not ourselves. Finally, let me say that this joy does not come from our material goods or from the people we have in our favor, but from our God. Do you think you have that kind of joy in your life?

The prophet Zephaniah invites Zion to rejoice and shout for joy, for the Lord has remembered her and will come to save her. St. Paul invites us to always be joyful, to pray without ceasing and to give thanks to God at all times. What Isaiah wonderfully proclaims in the first reading is fulfilled in Jesus. In the Gospel, the people ask John: “What should we do?” To prepare for the coming of the Messiah, he invited them to repent of their sins and to be baptized, but also to share what they had with those most in need, to be just and honest in everything, not to extort or falsely denounce anyone and to be content with their just wages.

I believe, my dear brothers, that these same principles apply to us here and now, and that each one of us must ask ourselves the same question: What must I do to prepare my heart to receive the Lord? Is there some change I need to make in my life to be a better human being? As we approach the Lord's Christmas, let us think for a moment: for whom or for what are we preparing our hearts? What are our expectations this Christmas? Let us not forget that we are preparing our hearts to receive our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev. Luis Segura M.S.C.

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A Message of Joy and Peace

On this third Sunday of Advent, the liturgy invites us to be joyful. Listen carefully: to be joyful. The Lord’s love for his people is endless, as of the tenderness of a father for his children, of a groom for his bride, as Zephaniah says: “he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing”. This is — so it is called — the Sunday of joy: the third Sunday of Advent, before Christmas. This appeal by the prophet is particularly appropriate during the Season in which we are preparing ourselves for Christmas, because it can be applied to Jesus, the Emmanuel, the God-with -us: his presence is the wellspring of joy. Indeed, Zephaniah proclaims: “The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst”, and a little later he repeats: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory” (vv. 15, 17). This message finds its full meaning in the moment of the Annunciation to Mary, narrated by the evangelist Luke. The words addressed to the Virgin by the Angel Gabriel are like an echo of those of the prophet. What does the Archangel Gabriel say? “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you! (Lk 1:28). He tells Our Lady to “Rejoice”. In an isolated hamlet of Galilee, in the heart of a young woman unknown to the world, God kindles the spark of happiness for the entire world. And today, the same announcement is addressed to the Church, called to receive the Gospel so that it may become flesh, concrete life. He says to the Church, to all of us: “Rejoice, little Christian community, poor and humble but beautiful in my eyes because you ardently desire my Kingdom, you hunger and thirst for justice, you patiently weave the fabric of peace, you do not pursue the powerful of the moment but remain faithfully beside the poor. And thus, you fear nothing but your heart is in joy”. If we live like this, in the presence of the Lord, our heart will always be in joy — when there is ‘high-level’, full joy, and the humble everyday joy, which is peace. Peace is the smallest joy, but it is joy. Saint Paul, too, exhorts us today to have no anxiety, to have no despair about anything, but rather, in every circumstance, to make our requests, our needs, our worries known to God “by prayer and supplication” (Phil 4:6). The awareness that we can always turn to the Lord in our

difficulties, and that he never rejects our invocations, is a great reason for joy. No worry, no fear will ever be able to take away this serenity which comes not from human things, from human comforts, no: the serenity that comes from God, from knowing that God lovingly guides our lives, and he always does so. Even in the midst of problems and suffering, this certainty fosters hope and courage.   However, in order to receive the Lord’s invitation to joy, it is necessary to be people willing to call ourselves into question. What does this mean? Just like those who, after listening to the preaching of John the Baptist, ask him: You preach this, but we, “What then shall we do” (Lk 3:10). What should I do? This question is the first step for the conversion that we are called to

carry out during this Season of Advent. Let each of us ask our self: what should I do? A very small thing, but “what should I do?”. And may the Virgin Mary, who is our mother, help us to open our heart to the God-who-comes, so that he may shower our whole life with joy. [Synthesized from Pope Francis Angelus, 16 XII 2018]

Rev. Jos Rajesh Peter M.S.C.

3rd Sunday of Advent – cycle C

My friends, the theme for the Third Sunday of Advent is Joy !  The very first word in our Liturgy today is Rejoice !  "Rejoice in the Lord always…"  Today is Gaudete Sunday.  Gaudete is the Latin word for Rejoice; we see it in our Liturgy, in the prayers, the readings, and our Advent wreath with the rose colored candle lit.  The vestments of the priest and deacon are often rose colored as well.

Liturgically all these signs are saying to us the coming of the Lord is getting nearer.  Our hope is that the coming of the Lord is happening in our mind, heart, soul and spirit.    Prepare him room !

Christian joy is in knowing that God is with us now and it is His desire for us to be with him always. Emanuel !  Emmanuel is a Hebrew word which means,  "God is with us."  That is what we celebrate today; God is with us.

St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, an early Christian community, said: “Rejoice in the Lord always.”  Then he goes on to tell us how to rejoice:

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer, petition, and with thanksgiving.”

Prayer

In Luke 18:1 Jesus said, “Pray and never give up.”  Then Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8).

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, St. Paul said, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.”

Petition

In today’s Second Reading, St. Paul said, “Make your requests known to God.”   Tell God your needs, for yourself and the needs of others.

Thanksgiving

We thank God for the love he gives us, for our daily bread, for this very day, and for life itself.

In our Gospel, St. John the Baptist gives us instructions regarding how to behave – and when we follow his instructions, we have cause to rejoice:

• Don’t steal or cheat another.

• Don’t extort anyone.

• Don't bully anyone.

• Share the gifts we have with those in need.

When Saint John preached this message, it was hard for most people to accept.  When Jesus preached this message, it was just as hard for many people to accept.

My friends, today is no different than 2,000 years ago.  Giving from self – is the cause for rejoicing that Saint Paul was talking about:

"Rejoice in the Lord always.  ...People should see how unselfish you are."  He goes on: "Then, God's own peace – which is beyond all understanding – will stand guard over your heart and mind – in Christ Jesus.”  Rejoice !!