Fourth
Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 12
Ir-Raba’ Ħadd tal-Avvent
Reading
Thus
says the LORD: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of
Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose
origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the Lord will give them
up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his
kindred shall return to the children of Israel
Qari I =
mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Mikea 5, 1-4a
Dan jgħid il-Mulej: “Int, Betlehem ta’ Efrata, ċkejkna
fost il-familji ta’ Ġuda, minnek għad joħroġli dak li jkun prinċep f’Iżrael; hu
għandu l-bidu tiegħu mill-qedem, sa minn
Responsorial
Psalm
= PSalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19.
O
shepherd of Israel
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be
saved.
Once
again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May
your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Salm Responsorjali = SALM 79 (80), 2aċ u 3b. 15-16. 18-19
R/.
(4): Mulej, itfa’ fuqna d-dija ta’ wiċċek, u nkunu salvi
O Ragħaj ta’ Iżrael, agħti widen,
int li qiegħed fuq il-kerubini, iddi.
Qajjem il-qawwa tiegħek,
u ejja ħa ssalvana. R/.
Erġa’ ejja, Alla tal-eżerċti;
ħares mis-sema, u ara,
u żur ’il
din id-dielja.
Ħu ħsieb dak li ħawlet lemintek,
ir-rimja li int kabbart għalik. R/.
Ħa tkun idek fuq il-bniedem ta’ lemintek,
fuq il-bniedem li int saħħaħt għalik.
Aħna ma nitbegħdux minnek;
roddilna l-ħajja, u aħna nsejħu ismek. R/.
Reading 2 = HEBrews 10:5-10
Brothers and sisters: When Christ came into
the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body
you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then
I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O
God.'" First he says,
"Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in." These
are offered according to the law. Then he says, :Behold, I come to do your
will." He takes away the first to establish the second. By this
"will," we have been consecrated
through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all.
Qari II = mill-Ittra
lil-Lhud 10, 5-10
Ħuti, Kristu meta daħal fid-dinja qal: “Sagrifiċċju
u offerta int ma ridtx, imma ġisem int ħejjejt għalija; vittmi maħruqa u vittmi
għad-dnubiet lilek ma għoġbukx. Jien imbagħad għedt: “Hawn jien, ġejt biex
nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek, O Alla, kif fil-ktieb hemm miktub fuqi”.“ L-ewwel
qal: “Sagrifiċċji u offerti, vittmi maħruqa u vittmi għad-dnubiet, la ridthom u lanqas
għoġbuk”, għalkemm dawn titlobhom
il-Liġi. Imbagħad qal: “Hawn jien, ġejt biex nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek”. B’hekk Alla neħħa
s-sagrifiċċji tal-ewwel biex iqiegħed
flokhom tat-tieni. Bis-saħħa ta’ din ir-rieda aħna konna mqaddsin, permezz tal-offerta
tal-ġisem ta’ Ġesù Kristu magħmula darba
għal dejjem. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel = LuKe 1:39-45
Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in
haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted
Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth
Evanġelju = Qari skont San
Luqa 1, 39-45
F’dawk il-ġranet Marija qamet u marret tħaffef lejn
l-għoljiet, f’belt tal-Lhudija. Daħlet għand Żakkarija u sellmet lil
Eliżabetta. Malli Eliżabetta semgħet
lil Marija ssellmilha, it-tarbija qabżet fil-ġuf tagħha u Eliżabetta mtliet bl-Ispirtu
s-Santu; u nfexxet f’għajta kbira u qalet: “Imbierka
inti fost in-nisa, u mbierek il-frott tal-ġuf tiegħek! U minn
/////////////////////////////
Experiencing the Possibility of the
Impossible
A reflection by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
The Infancy Narrative of Luke’s
Gospel contains some of the most touching, well-known biblical scenes in the
New Testament. Not only does the annunciation of the Baptist’s beginnings
(1:5-24) precede that of Jesus (1:26-38), but the birth of John the Baptist
(1:57-66) precedes Jesus’ birth (2:1-7).
The announcement to Mary of the
birth of Jesus is parallel to the announcement to Zechariah of the birth of
John. In both stories the angel Gabriel appears to the parent, who becomes
troubled by the vision (Luke 1:11-12, 26-29), and is assured by the angel not to
fear (Luke 1:13, 30). After the announcement is made (Luke 1:14-17, 31-33), the
parent objects (Luke 1:18, 34), and a sign is given to confirm the announcement
(Luke 1:20, 36). The particular focus of the announcement of the birth of Jesus
is on his identity as Son of David (Luke 1:32-33) and Son of God (Luke 1:32,
35).
In the very personal scene of
Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth
The two pregnant women of Sunday’s
Advent Gospel, Mary and Elizabeth, recognized in each other signs from God. The
angel Gabriel offered Mary a lesser parallel to her own virginal conception:
“Know that Elizabeth your kinswoman has conceived a son in her old age; she who
was thought to be barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible
with God” (Luke 1:36). Elizabeth
Trust in
God
The visitation of Mary to
Elizabeth turned out to be a divine visitation, the Ark of God bringing not
terror but blessing, as it did to the house of Obededom the Gittite (1 Samuel
6:9-11). Unlike Sarah, who had laughed at the notion that she could conceive
and bear a child to Abraham in her old age (Genesis 18:12), and unlike
Zechariah, her husband, who had been struck dumb for questioning God’s power in
this matter (Luke 1:8-20), Elizabeth gives thanks to God and trusts in his providence:
“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my
disgrace before others” (Luke 1:25). Mary, for her part, deserved to be
acclaimed by Elizabeth
Although Mary is praised for being
the Mother of the Lord and for her belief, she responds as a servant in a psalm
of praise, the Magnificat.
The Magnificat celebrates
the wonders of God’s graciousness in the lives not only of these two Advent
women but of all for whom “the Mighty One has done great things” (Luke 1:49).
There are two aspects to consider
in Sunday’s Visitation scene. The first is that any element of personal agenda
of Mary and Elizabeth is put aside. Both had good reason to be very preoccupied
with their pregnancies and all that new life brings. Both women had a right to
focus on themselves for a while as they made new and radical adjustments to
their daily lives.
Mary reaches out to her kinswoman
to help her and also to be helped by her. These two great biblical women
consoled each other, shared their stories, and gave each other the gift of
themselves in the midst of the new life they were experiencing: Elizabeth
The second point to consider is
the speed of Mary’s reaction and movement. Luke tells us that she undertook “in
haste” the long and perilous trek from Nazareth
to a village in the hill country of Judea
(1:39). She knew clearly what she wanted and did not allow anyone or anything
to stop her.
In his commentary on Luke’s
Gospel, St. Ambrose of Milan
Procrastination
How many things exist in our lives
that we dreamed of doing, should have done, and never did – letters that should
have been written, dreams that should have been realized, gratitude that was
not expressed, affection never shown, words that should have been spoken, etc.?
Postponements and delays weigh heavily upon us, wear us down, and discourage
us. They gnaw away at us. How aptly St. Ambrose described Mary’s haste: The
Spirit completely possessed the Virgin Daughter of Nazareth and compelled her
to act.
The story of the Visitation
teaches us an important lesson: when Christ is growing inside of us, we will be
led to people, places, and situations that we never dreamed of. We will bear
words of consolation and hope that are not our own. In the very act of
consoling others, we will be consoled. We will be at peace, recollected,
because we know that however insignificant our life and issues seem to be, from
them Christ is forming himself.
The women of today’s Gospel show
us that it is possible to move beyond our own little personal agendas and
engage in authentic ministry and service in the Church. Ministry and service
are not simply doing things for others. Authentic Christian ministers and
servants allow themselves to serve and be served, taught, cared for, consoled,
and loved. Such moments liberate us and enable us to sing Magnificat along the journey, and celebrate the
great things that God does for us and his people.
Consider these words of Mother
Teresa of Calcutta
In the mystery of the Annunciation and the
Visitation, Mary is the very model of the life we should lead. First of all,
she welcomed Jesus in her existence; then, she shared what she had received.
Every time we receive Holy Communion, Jesus the Word becomes flesh in our life
– gift of God who is at one and the same time beautiful, kind, unique.
Thus, the first Eucharist was
such: Mary’s offering of her Son in her, in whom he had set up the first altar.
Mary, the only one who could affirm with absolute confidence, ‘this is my
body,’ from that first moment offered her own body, her strength, all her
being, to form the Body of Christ.
//////////////// (The two above paintings are by Nathanael Theuma)
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