It-3 Ħadd tal-Avvent, Sena B
Messalin
B pp86
The spirit of the
Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring
glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the
LORD and a day of vindication by our God.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he
has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.
L-Ewwel Qari - mill-Ktieb
tal-Profeta Isaija 61, 1-2, 10-11
L-Ispirtu ta’ Sidi l-Mulej fuqi, għax il-Mulej
ikkonsagrani biex inwassal il-bxara t-tajba lill-fqajrin, bagħatni ndewwi
l-qalb miksura, biex inħabbar il-ħelsien lill-imjassrin, u lill-ħabsin il-ftuħ
tal-ħabs; biex
inniedi s-sena tal-grazzja tal-Mulej. Nifraħ fuq li nifraħ bil-Mulej, taqbeż
bil-ferħ ruħi b’Alla tiegħi. Għax hu libisni bi lbies is-salvazzjoni,
bil-mantar tal-ġustizzja għattieni, bħal għarusa tlellex bil-ġawhar tagħha. Bħalma
l-art tnibbet, bħalma l-ġnien inibbet il-miżrugħ fih, hekk il-Mulej
inibbet il-ġustizzja u l-foħrija, quddiem kollha kemm huma l-ġnus. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm Luke 1: 46-48, 49-50, 53-54
My soul rejoices in my God
My soul proclaims
the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: R/.
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed
the Almighty has
done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation. R/
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation. R/
He has filled the
hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servantIsrael
for he has remembered his promise of mercy, R/
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant
for he has remembered his promise of mercy, R/
Salm
Responsorjali LUQA 1, 46-48,49-50,
53-54
R/ Taqbeż bil-ferħ ruħi b'Alla tiegħi.
Ruħi tfaħħar il-kobor tal-Mulej,
u l-ispirtu tiegħi jifraħ f’Alla s-Salvatur tiegħi,
għax hu xeħet għajnejh fuq iċ-ċokon tal-qaddejja tiegħu.
Iva, minn issa ‘l quddiem
kull nisel jibda jsejjaħli ħienja. R/
Għax is-Setgħani għamel miegħi ħwejjeġ kbar;
qaddis hu l-isem tiegħu.
Il-ħniena tiegħu
tinfirex f’kull żmien
fuq dawk li jibżghu minnu. R/
Mela b’kull ġid lil min hu bil-ġuħ,
u l-għonja bagħathom ‘il barra b’xejn.
Ħa ħsieb Israel qaddej tiegħu,
għax ftakar fil-ħniena tiegħu. R/
Reading 2 1 THESSalonians 5: 16-24
Brothers and
sisters: Rejoice always. Pray
without ceasing. In all circumstances give
thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not
quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain
what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil. May the God of peace make you
perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved
blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is
faithful, and he will also accomplish it.
It-Tieni
Qari - mil-Ewwel Ittra lit-Tessalonkin 5, 16-24
Ħuti: ifirħu dejjem, itolbu bla heda, iżżu ħajr
lil Alla f’kollox. Dan hu li jrid Alla minn għandkom fi Kristu Ġesu’. Ixxeklux
l-Ispirtu, tmaqdrux il-profezija Ippruvaw kollox: it-tajjeb żommuh, u fuq kollox, warrbu kull xorta ta’ ħażen. U Alla tas-sliem
iqaddiskom f’kollox, u jżommkom sħaħ bla
mittiefsa, fl-ispirtu, fir-ruħ u fil-ġisem, sa ma jiġi Sidna Ġesu’ Kristu. Fidil hu Alla li sejħilkom, u huwa jagħmel
dan. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Gospel JohN 1: 6-8, 19-28
A man named John
was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all
might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the
light.And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask
him, “Who are you?” He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the
Christ.” So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said,
“I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He
answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to
those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” He said: “I am the
voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.” Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked
him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the
Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water; but there is one among you
whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I
am not worthy to untie.” This happened in Bethany
across the Jordan , where John was
baptizing.
L-Evanġelju - skond San Ġwann 1, 6-8, 19-28
Kien
hemm raġel mibgħut minn Alla, jismu Ġwanni.
Dan ġie bħala xhud, biex jixhed għad-dawl, biex bih
kulħadd jemmen. Ġwanni ma kienx
id-dawl, Imma ġie biex jixhed għad-dawl. Ix-xhieda ta' Ġwanni kienet
din, meta l-Lhud ta’ Ġerusalem bagħtu għandu
xi qassisin u l-leviti biex jistaqsuh, “Int min int?˝ Hu stqarr bla ma ċaħad: “Jien miniex il-Messija.˝ Huma reġgħu staqsewh : “Mela min
int Elija?˝ “Miniex˝ qalilhom. ˝Inti l-profeta?˝ “Le˝, weġibhom. Imbagħad
qalulu: “Mela min int? Biex nagħtu
tweġiba ‘lil dawk li bagħtuna.
Min tgħid li int?˝ U hu qal wiegeb kif qal il-profeta
Isaija: “Jien l-leħen ta’ wieħed jgħajjat
fid-deżert, ‘Wittu t-triq tal-Mulej.’˝ Issa dawk il-messaġġiera kienu
min-naħa tal-Fariżej. Huma staqsewh: “Mela kif qiegħed tgħammed la m’initix
il-Messija, u la Elija u lanqas il-Profeta?˝ “Jiena
ngħammed bl-ilma,˝ weġibhom Ġwanni, ˝imma f’nofskom, hemm wieħed li intom ta tafuhx, li
ġej warajja; jien anqas jistħoqqli nħollu
l-qafla tal-qorq tiegħu.˝ Dan ġara b’Betanja, in-naħa l-oħra tal-Ġordan, fejn Ġwanni kien igħammed. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Rejoicing & Waiting
Advent
is the season of the prophets and the Scripture readings of these weeks before
Christmas help us to focus our vision and deepen our longing for the Messiah.
In
this year’s Gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent, the figure of John the
Baptist appears once again on the stage of salvation history. John’s whole
mission was a preparation for the Messiah’s coming. When the time had come,
John led his own disciples to Jesus and indicated to them the Messiah, the True
Light, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John, himself,
was not the light. He came to testify to the light. He didn’t spend time
thinking about his shadow. He just allowed the light to shine on him.
John
considered himself to be less than a slave to Jesus, “Among you stands one whom
you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the
thong of his sandal” (John 1: 26-27).
When John’s own disciples came to him and were troubled about the meaning of
Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan , he
answered them confidently: “No one can
receive anything except what has been given from above.” John says he is only
the friend of the bridegroom, the one who must decrease while his master
increases (John 3: 27-30). The
Baptizer defined his humanity in terms of its limitations.
In
one of the most poignant scenes of Luke’s Gospel, John the Baptist is
imprisoned by Herod Antipas because of his public rebuke of the tetrarch for
his adulterous and incestuous marriage with Herodias (Matthew 4: 12; Mark 1: 14;
Luke 3: 19). Alone, dejected and near
the end of his life, John the Baptist, hailed as the “greatest of all
prophets,” had to ask the question, “Are you really the one who is to come?”
(Luke 7: 19) John probably expected a
fiery social reformer to come and bring about the Kingdom, certainly not
someone who would associate with the poor, the lame, the blind, outcasts and
sinners. Yet Christ comes in the most unexpected ways and often in the most
unlikely people.
Jesus
invites John to look around and see the works that had already been
accomplished in the midst of people. The blind recovered their sight and the
lame were walking again. Diseases and illness were healed and all those who
were deaf could hear. The Good News was now preached to the poor. That was the
greatest wonder of all! This is a great consolation for us. We should never be
surprised if we often find ourselves asking the same question – “Is Christian
living really worth it?” “Is Jesus really the answer to all the evils and
sadness of the world and of our own lives?”
The
crowds came to John and asked him, “What should we do?” The Baptist advises no
one to leave the world they are in, however ambiguous it may be. Rather he told
those with two coats to share one with those who had none. Likewise, those with
an abundance of food were to share with the hungry. Tax collectors were told to
collect no more than was appointed to them. Soldiers were to rob no one by
violence or by false accusation. They were to be content with their wages. What
were people to do to prepare for the imminent coming of the Messiah? To be
generous, just, honest, grateful and compassionate (cf. Luke 3:10-14).
John
the Baptist’s life and mission reminds us how badly we need a Saviour to save
us, in order that we might be all that we are called to be and do all that we
have to do to live in the Light. How are we courageous and prophetic in our
Christian witness to the Light, who has already come into our world? So often
we fail to recognize the one among us who is our True Light.
May
John the Baptist give us strength and courage to bear the light to others, and
the generosity and ability to rejoice as we wait. “Rejoice always, pray without
ceasing,” Paul writes in his first letter to the Thessalonians. We can also
reverse the order of these two sentences: “Pray without ceasing, so that we
will be able to rejoice always.”
In
prayer we experience God’s gathering up all of our concerns and hopes into his
own infinite love and wisdom, his setting us back on our feet, and his giving
us fullness of life and light.
Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
CEO, Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation
CEO, Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation
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