Third Sunday of Advent
It-Tielet Ħadd ta' l-Avvent
Messalin
A pp 74
The desert and the parched land
will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant
flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon Carmel Sharon Zion
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta
Isaija 35, 1-6a,10
Ħa jifirħu d-deżert u l-art maħruqa; ħa jifraħ
ix-xagħri u jwarrad, ħa jwarrad bħar-ranġis.
Ħa tifraħ fuq li tifraħ, taqbeż u tgħanni. Sebħ
il-Libanu jingħata lilha, il-ġmiel tal-Karmel u ta' Saron. Għad jaraw is-sebħ tal-Mulej, il-ġmiel ta' Alla tagħna. Qawwu l-idejn mitruħa; saħħu l-irkubbtejn
imriegħda. Għidu lil dawk b'qalbhom imbeżżgħa: "Agħmlu l-ħila,
la tibżgħux! Araw, Alla
tagħkom ġej jitħallas; il-ħlas
ta' Alla wasal; Hu stess ġej biex
isalvakom." Imbagħad jinfetħu għajnejn
l-għomja, jinfetħu widnejn it-torox. Imbagħad iz-zopp jaqbeż bħal għażżiela u lsien
imbikkem jinħall bil-ferħ. Jerġgħu lura
l-mifdijin tal-Mulej, u jidħlu f'Sijon jgħajtu bil-ferħ, b'ferħ
ta' dejjem fuq rashom. Il-ferħ u l-hena
jiksbu, u jgħibu swied
il-qalb u l-krib. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm
PSalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
The LORD God keeps faith
forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Lord, come and save us.
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
R. Lord, come and save us.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations.
Lord, come and save us.
Salm
Responsorjali
Salm
146(147)
Il-Mulej
iżomm kelmtu għal dejjem,
jagħmel ħaqq mill-maħquin,
u
jagħti l-ħobż lill-imġewħin.
Il-Mulej
jeħles lill-imjassrin.
R/ Ejja Mulej, ħa ssalvana.
Il-Mulej
jiftaħ għajnejn l-għomja;
il-Mulej
jerfa' lill-milwijin;
il-Mulej
iħobb lill-ġusti;
il-Mulej
iħares lill-barranin.
R/ Ejja Mulej, ħa ssalvana.
Hu
jżomm lill-iltim u lill-armla,
imma
lill-ħżiena jħabtilhom triqathom.
Il-Mulej
isaltan għal dejjem;
Alla
tiegħek, Sijon, minn
R/ Ejja Mulej, ħa ssalvana.
JAmeS 5:7-10
Be patient, brothers and
sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the
precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until
it receives the early and the late rains. You too must be patient. Make your
hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not complain,
brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be
judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. Take as an example of
hardship and patience, brothers and sisters, the prophets who spoke in the name
of the Lord. This is the Word of the
Lord.
It-Tieni
Lezzjoni
Qari
mill-Ittra ta' San Ġakbu Appostlu 5, 7-10
Ħuti, stabru, sa
ma jasal il-Mulej. ara, il-bidwi joqgħod
b'sabar kbir jistenna l-frott għażiż ta' l-art
sa ma jieħu x-xita bikrija u mwaħħra. Stabru intom ukoll; qawwu qalbkom, għax il-miġja
tal-Mulej hi fil-qrib. Tgergrux kontra xulxin, ħuti, biex ma tkunux iġġudikati;
araw' l-Imħallef qiegħed hawn, quddiem il-bieb! Bħala eżempju tat-tbatija u s-sabar, ħuti, ħudu l-profeti li tkellmu f'isem il-Mulej. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
MatThew 11:2-11
When John the Baptist heard in
prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples to
Jesus with this question, “Are you the one who is
to come, or should we look for another?”Jesus said to them in reply, “Go
and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their
sight, the
lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is
the one who takes no offense at me.” As they were going off, Jesus began to
speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out to
the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone
dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fine clothing are in royal palaces. Then
why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom it is written: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he
will prepare your way before you. Amen, I say to you, among those
born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet
the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” This is the Word of the Lord.
L-Evanġelju
Qari skond San Mattew 11, 2-11
F'dak
iż-żmien , Ġwanni, li kien
fil-ħabs, sama' bl-għemejjel tal-Messija, u bagħat għandu tnejn
mid-dixxipli tiegħu u
qallu:"int huwa dak li għandu jiġi, jew nistennew lilv ħaddieħor?"Ġesu'
wieġeb u qalilhom: "Morru agħtu lil Ġwanni
l-aħbar ta' dak li qegħdin tisimgħu u taraw:
l-għomja jaraw;
iz-zoppom jimxu, il-lebbrużi jfiqu, it-torox jisimgħu, il-mejtin iqumu, l-Evanġelju jixxandar lill-foqra. Ħieni
hu min ma jitfixkilx minħabba fija."
Meta minn minn
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Commentary by Fr Thomas Rosica CSB
In
his moving homily for
the Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry as Bishop of Rome on April 24, 2005,
Pope Benedict XVI spoke these words:
The pastor must be inspired by Christ’s holy zeal: for him it is
not a matter of indifference that so many people are living in the
desert. And there are so many kinds of desert. There is the desert
of poverty, the desert of hunger and thirst, the desert of abandonment, of
loneliness, of destroyed love. There is the desert of God
The deserts of our lives
There
is no better starting point to understand the Scripture readings for the third
Sunday of Advent, especially Sunday’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah
[35:1-10], than by reflecting on Pope Benedict’s words. The themes of
geography and desert in both the Pope’s inaugural homily and Isaiah’s stirring
reading invite us to reflect on the deserts of our own lives. How do we live in
the midst of our own deserts? How often have we become deserts of
loneliness, desolation and emptiness, rather than flourishing gardens of
community, joy and light for others? How have we resisted transforming
our own deserts into places of abundant life? We may have to go into that
wilderness where we realize we are lost, and alone, unfruitful and without
resources – and only when we reach that point are we ready to meet God.
The
desert has become a metaphor to describe the sense of alienation and despair
that are the effects of human sinfulness. How many times have we used the
expression: “I’m living through a real desert experience” or “I feel so
alienated from God and from other people” to describe what we are feeling
because of our sinfulness. If we are complacent and self-satisfied, we’ll
never begin to long for the coming of the Lord, or make ready to meet
him. The ways of the desert were deep within the heart of Jesus, and it
must be the same for all who would follow him. In the midst of the desert
we hear what God will do if we open our hearts to him and allow God to make our
own deserts bloom.
The geography of salvation… today
God
has revealed himself to us not only in specific periods of time, but also in
very particular places in creation. For many Christians, these very
places conjure up images of shepherds and olive trees, high walls and enclosed,
ancient cities and towns as they existed in the age of King David or Bethlehem Holy Land is a land without
history, its people and places frozen in a biblical time frame, or locked in an
unending political battle. As Catholics, we have a double obligation to
thaw out the frozen biblical time frame and make it accessible and inviting for
Christians.
A
visit to the Holy Land reminds us that we are
caught up not only in the History of Salvation but also in the Geography of
Salvation. Both the story of our own lives, coupled with the biblical
stories, show us how God can write straight with our crooked lines. The
best-selling Holy Land Guides do not bear witness. They merely
indicate. Only people, not stones and marbles can bear the most authentic
and eloquent witness that at one shining moment in history, the Word became
flesh and pitched his tent among us. And we continue in our day to behold
his glory.
The word of God and the Holy Land
As
we journey through this season of Advent, I encourage you to read Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Exhortation “Verbum Domini,” and
especially the following section that speaks eloquently about the word of God and the Holy
Land :
89. As we call to mind the Word of God who became flesh in
the womb of Mary of Nazareth, our heart now turns to the land where the mystery
of our salvation was accomplished, and from which the word of God spread to the
ends of the earth. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word became flesh in a
specific time and place, in a strip of land on the edges of the Roman Empire . The more we appreciate the universality and
the uniqueness of Christ’s person, the more we look with gratitude to that land
where Jesus was born, where he lived and where he gave his life for us.
The
stones on which our Redeemer walked are still charged with his memory and continue
to “cry out” the Good News. For this reason, the Synod Fathers recalled the
felicitous phrase that speaks of the Holy Land
as “the Fifth Gospel”. How important it is that in those places there be
Christian communities, notwithstanding any number of hardships! The Synod of
Bishops expressed profound closeness to all those Christians who dwell in the land of Jesus
The
Holy Land today remains a goal of pilgrimage for the Christian people, a place
of prayer and penance, as was testified to in antiquity by authors like Saint Jerome
The Sunday of rejoicing
The
way of Israel Israel desert of Israel
Come,
Lord Jesus!
We
need you now more than ever.
Make
our deserts bloom.
Quench
our thirst with your living water.
Give
us strength to follow you on the Highway of Holiness.
Fill
our hearts and minds with rejoicing!
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