Rejoice Always

Readings for December 16

Third Sunday of Advent

It-Tielet Ħadd ta’ l-Avvent   

Messalin C 86

FIRST READING - Zephaniah 3:14-18

Sing, daughter of Zion! Shout, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem. YHWH has taken away your judgments. He has thrown out your enemy. The King of Israel, YHWH, is in the midst of you. You will not be afraid of evil any more. In that day, it will be said to Jerusalem, “Don’t be afraid, Zion. Don’t let your hands be weak.”  YHWH, your God, is in the midst of you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.  I will remove those who grieve about the appointed feasts from you. They are a burden and a reproach to you.

L-EWWEL QARI - mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Sofonija 3:14-18a

Ghajjat bil-ferh ta’ qalbek, bint Sijon, Israel, samma’ lehnek! Infexx fl-hena u ifrah b’qalbek kollha, bint Gerusalemm! Nehha l-Mulej minn fuqek is-sentenza li kellek kontrik, kecca l-ghedewwa tieghek. Is-sultan ta’ Israel, il-Mulej, hu f’nofsok; ma jkollokx izjed hsara minn xiex tibza’ Dakinhar jghidu lil Gerusalemm: «Tibzax, Sijon, thallix idejk jintelqu! Il-Mulej, Alla tieghek, qieghed f’nofsok, gwerrier li jsalva; minhabba fik jithenna b’hena kbir, fi mhabbtu jgeddek, jinfexx minhabba fik f’ghajjat ta’ ferh, bhallikieku f’jum ta’ festa.

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RESPONSORIAL PSALM – ( Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6)

R. (6) 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/

Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.                      R/         

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/

 

SALM RESPONSORJALI   -  (Isaija 12:2-6)

        R/: Kbir hu f’nofsok il-Qaddis ta’ Israel!

Alla s-salvazzjoni tieghi,

jiena nittama u ma jkollix mniex nibza’.

Ghax qawwieti u ghanjieti hu l-Mulej,

ghalija sar is-salvazzjoni.

Kollkom ferhana

timlew l-ilma mill-ghejjun tas-salvazzjoni.  R/…

Roddu hajr lill-Mulej, sejhu ismu,

gharrfu lill-gnus bl-ghemejjel tieghu,

xandru li ismu huwa fl-gholi.                      R/…

Ghannu lill-Mulej ghax ghamel hwejjeg kbar;

ha jkun dan maghruf mal-art kollha.

Aqbez bil-ferh, ghanni,

int li tghammar f’Sijon,

ghax kbir hu f’nofsok il-Qaddis ta’ Israel.   R/…

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SECOND READING -  Philippians 4:4-7

Be joyful with God. I tell you again, be full of joy. Let everyone know you are peaceful. After all, the Lord will be here soon. So, don’t get anxious about anything. Instead, let God know all that you need. Pray to him with a heart full of thanks. God’s peace is greater than everything we know. With Christ Jesus at our side, his peace will guard our minds and hearts from worry.

T-TIENI QARI    -  mill-Ittra ta’ San Pawl lill-Filippin 4:4-7 

Huti, ifirhu dejjem fil-Mulej; nerga’ nghidilkom, ifirhu. Il-hlewwa taghkom, ha jkunu jafuha l-bnedmin kollha. Il-Mulej qorob! Thabbtu raskom b’xejn. Fit-talb kollu taghkom itolbu u uru lil Alla xi jkollkom bzonn, u izzuh hajr. U s-sliem ta’ Alla, sliem li jghaddi kulma l-mohh jista’ jifhem, izommilkom qalbkom u mohhkom shah fi Kristu Gesù.  

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GOSPEL -  Luke 3:10-18

After John told the people around him that simply being Jewish was not good enough to please God, 10 people kept asking him, "What should we do then?" "The person who packed extra clothes should share with the person who needs clothing to stay warm at night," John kept saying. "The person with food should share with the hungry."  Tax men came to be baptized by John. "What should we do?" they asked John.  "Don't collect more money from the people than the Romans tell you to collect," John answered. Even the Roman soldiers kept asking him, "What should we do, too?" "Don't beat up people for their money. Don't threaten to lie about people in court so they will give you their money. Be happy with your pay," John replied. The crowds around John wondered if John was the Messiah. After all, they waited eagerly for the coming of God's savior.  But John said to everyone, "Listen! I baptize you with water. But there is someone coming who is greater than I am. He is so great, I am not even fit to untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire!  His baptism will be like a great grain harvest. He will clear off the floor where he separated the grain from the rest of the plant. Then, he will store the good grain in his barn. But he will burn up the rest of the plant in a never ending fire!"  John kept encouraging the people talking about changing their lives and about the coming Messiah. In this way, John spread the Good News to everyone who heard him.

IL-VANGELJU  - Luqa 3:10-18

F’dak iz-zmien, in-nies kienu jistaqsu lil Gwanni u jghidulu: «Mela x’ghandna naghmlu?» U huwa kien iwegibhom: «Min ghandu zewg ilbiesi, jaqsam ma’ min ma ghandu xejn, u min ghandu x’jiekol jaghmel l-istess.» Resqu wkoll xi pubblikani biex jitghammdu u qalulu: «Mghallem, x’ghandna naghmlu ahna?» U huwa wegibhom: «Tissikkaw lil hadd biex jaghtikom taxxi izjed milli jmisskom tiehdu.»  Staqsewh ukoll xi suldati u qalulu: «U ahna, x’ghandna naghmlu?» U huwa wegibhom: «Tisirqu lil hadd bit-tehdid jew bil-qerq taghkom, u kkuntentaw ruhkom bil-paga li ghandkom.» Il-poplu kien qieghed jistenna herqan, u kulhadd kien jistaqsi lilu nnifsu dwar Gwanni, jekk kienx hu l-Messija. Ghalhekk Gwanni qabad u qal lil kulhadd: «Jien, nghid ghalija, nghammidkom bl-ilma, imma gej wiehed aqwa minni, li ma jisthoqqlix inhollu l-qfieli tal-qorq tieghu. Hu jghammidkom bl-Ispirtu s-Santu u n-nar. Il-midra qieghda f’idu, biex iderri l-qiegha u jigbor il-qamh fil-mahzen tieghu, imma t-tiben jaharqu b’nar li ma jintefiex.» U b’hafna twissijiet ohra kien ixandar lill-poplu l-bxara t-tajba.

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COMMENTARY

Father Cantalamessa on Kindness

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on this Sunday's liturgical readings.

"A Balm in Human Relationships"

The third Sunday of Advent is pervaded by the theme of joy. This Sunday is traditionally called "Laetare" Sunday, that is, the Sunday of "rejoicing," from the words of St. Paul in the second reading: "Rejoice in the Lord always; I say again, rejoice."

In the first reading we hear the words of the prophet Zephaniah: "Rejoice, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!" In the responsorial psalm this extraordinary vocabulary of joy is enriched with still other terms: "My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my salvation. With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation. … Shout with exultation, O city of Zion."

Let us remain for a while with this word. (The Gospel passage continues the message of John the Baptist that we commented on last Sunday.) In the poem "Il sabato del villaggio" ("The village sabbath") Giacomo Leopardi has expressed the idea that in the present life the only authentic and possible joy is the joy of expectation, the joy of the sabbath. It is a "day full of hope and joy," full of joy precisely because it is full of hope. The expectation of the feast is better than the feast itself.

The possession of the good that was longed for brings nothing but disillusionment and boredom, because every finite good reveals itself to be inferior to what was desired and is tiresome; only expectation is the bearer of living joy. But this is precisely what Christian joy is in this world: the joy of the sabbath, the prelude to the Sunday without end, which is eternal life. St. Paul says that Christians must be "joyful in hope" (Romans 12:12), which does not mean that we must "hope to be happy" (after death), but that we must be "joyful in hope," already happy now by the simple fact of hoping.

The Apostle does not limit himself only to the command to rejoice; he also indicates how a community that wants to bear witness to joy and make it credible to others must conduct itself. He says: "Your affability should be known by all men."

The Greek word that we translate as "affability" signifies a whole complex of attitudes that runs from clemency to the capacity to know how to believe and to show oneself to be lovable, tolerant, and hospitable. We could translate it with the word "kindness." It is necessary that we first of all rediscover the human value of this virtue. Kindness is a virtue which is at risk, or, more exactly, it is a virtue that is extinct in the society in which we live.

Gratuitous violence in films and on television, language that is intentionally vulgar, the competition to go beyond the limits in regard to brutality and explicit sex is making us used to every expression of ugliness and vulgarity.

Kindness is a balm in human relationships. Family life would be so much better if there were more kindness in our gestures, in our words, and above all, in the sentiments of our hearts. Nothing extinguishes the joy of being together more than a certain vileness in our behavior. "A kind answer," says Scripture, "calms wrath, but a barbed one brings ire" (Proverbs 15:14). "A kind mouth multiplies friends, and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings" (Sirach 6:5). A kind person generates fond feelings and admiration wherever he goes.

Alongside this human value we must also rediscover the Gospel value of kindness. In the Bible the terms "meek" and "mild" do not have the passive sense of "subjected," "repressed," but the active sense of a person who acts with respect, courtesy, clemency toward others.

Kindness is indispensable above all for those who want to help others find Christ. The Apostle Peter recommends to the first Christians to be "ready to give a reason for their hope," but adds immediately: "But this must be done with sweetness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15 ff), which is to say, with kindness.