Third Sunday of Advent
It-3 Ħadd tal-Avvent
Messalin B pp86
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Is 61:1-2a, 10-11
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. This is the Word of the Lord.
L-Ewwel
Qari
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
Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54.
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 soul rejoices in my God.
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.
My soul rejoices in my God.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
R.
My soul rejoices in my God.
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/ Taqbeż bil-ferħ ruħi b'Alla tiegħi.
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/ Taqbeż bil-ferħ ruħi b'Alla tiegħi.
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/ Taqbeż bil-ferħ ruħi b'Alla tiegħi.
Reading II
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. This is the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni
Qari
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
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 Bethany across the Jordan
L-Evanġelju
Qari mill-Evanġelju skond San
Ġwann 1, 6-8, 19-28
Kien hemm
raġel mibgħut minn
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Rejoicing and Waiting with John the
Baptist
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, "There is
one among you whom you do not recognize -- the one coming after me -- the strap
of whose sandal I am not worthy to unfasten" (John 1:26-27). When John's
own disciples came to him and were troubled about the meaning of Jesus' baptism
in the Jordan
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 Messiah?" 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 then shall 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
Savior 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 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.
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