Vol. 37  No. 3                               (Cycle C)     3rd SUNDAY OF ADVENT   Rejoice, the Lord is coming     ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near. PENITENTIAL RITE As we prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist by repenting of our sins and failures, let us ask the Lord to free us of all fears, insecurities, sadness, hurts, divisions, anxieties and sins and fill us with his healing love, soothing joy and lasting peace. I confess... OPENING PRAYER Let us pray: Lord God, may we, your people, who look forward to the birthday of Christ experience the joy of salvation and celebrate that feast with love and thanksgiving. We ask this… FIRST READING (Zephaniah foretells great rejoicing and gladness when the Lord comes in their midst and removes the judgement against the people and turns away their enemies.) A reading from the Book of Zephaniah (3:14-18) Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival.” This is the Word of the Lord Psalm (Is 12:2-2,4bcd,5-6) Response: Shout and sing for joy, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. R./ Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name; make known his deeds among the nations, proclaim that his name is exalted. R./ Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitants of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. R./ Second reading (Paul invites the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord and to let go of their anxiety by living in prayer and thanksgiving.) A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Philippians (4:4-7) Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Lk 4:18) Alleluia, alleluia! The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor. Alleluia! GOSPEL (John the Baptist speaks of the coming of the Messiah, the one mightier than himself. He exhorts people of various professions to make amends in their lives and get ready to welcome the promised Messiah.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke (3:10-18) The multitudes asked John, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than is appointed you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning John whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, “I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So, with many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people. This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/Creator of heaven and earth./I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, joy is the by-product of the coming of the Messiah into our lives. Let us fervently pray for this gift of joy, saying: Response: Lord, fill us with your joy and grant us your peace. 1. We pray for our Pope and all the leaders of the Church. May they experience the fullness of joy as they lead and guide your Church through the power of the Holy Spirit. R./ 2. We pray for all those who make laws and implement them in the society. May our legislators and guardians of law be guided by the Holy Spirit and be motivated by the good of all the people. R./ 3. We pray for the people who administer the wealth of the nations and institutions. May they all be guided by a sense of justice and compassion to bring joy to the lives of the people under their care. R./ 4. We pray for farmers everywhere who struggle hard to cultivate. May they be blessed with good weather and abundant crops. R./ 5. We pray for the poor and the needy who do not have enough means to lead a decent life. May they find help and support in the generosity and kindness of those around them. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of joy that comes with the presence of Jesus in our lives. We ask you to continue to bless us with his Spirit so that we may joyfully serve you and bring glory to your name. We ask this... PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, may the gift we offer in faith and love be a continual sacrifice in your honour and truly become our Eucharist and our salvation. We ask this... Preface (P 2) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. His future coming was proclaimed by all the prophets. The virgin mother bore him in her womb with love beyond all telling. John the Baptist was his herald and made him known when at last he came. In his love Christ has filled us with joy as we prepare to celebrate his birth, so that when he comes he may find us watching in prayer, our hearts filled with wonder and praise. And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise: All: Holy, holy, holy... COMMUNION ANTIPHON Say to the anxious: be strong and fear not, our God will come to save us. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION God of mercy, may this Eucharist bring us your divine help, free us from our sins, and prepare us for the birthday of our Saviour, who is Lord for ever and ever.   Liturgy and Life The Third Sunday of Advent focuses on the theme of joy as it is known as ‘Gaudete Sunday’. Where can we find true joy? Can we ever experience real joy in the world? What with the financial crisis that rattles the whole world, resulting in job loss, unpaid loans, depression and hopelessness that lead to suicide and murder? Natural calamities and terror attacks increase our insecurity and take our joy away. The death of a loved one suddenly shatters our joy and makes us sad. St Paul who wrote his letter to the Philippians from a dark prison cell had all the reasons to be sad and depressed. Yet he is filled with the joy that comes from knowing and loving Christ and thus he writes, “Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say, rejoice” (Phil 4:4). Yes, we are beset with problems and fears on all sides but we have our faith as Christ has won victory over evil. He has brought us Good News and salvation. He is our hope. According to G. K. Chesterton, “Sorrow is only an innocent interlude whereas joy is the permanent pulsation of the soul.” The Scripture readings of today remind us that Christ is the source of joy. Jesus’ life and ministry have the colour of joy all through. He brought great joy to the shepherds at his birth; to the family of Elizabeth and Zechariah at the visitation; to the hosts of the wedding feast of Cana by changing water into wine. Joy was the major theme of his parables such as the story of Zacchaeus, Prodigal Son, Lost Coin, Lost Sheep, etc. The main image of the Kingdom that he preached was the festive joy of a wedding feast. Even in his suffering and death Jesus was a joyful person and brought joy to others. Late Archbishop Oscar Romero in his first pastoral letter emphasized the need for Christians to be joyful: “It is wrong to be sad. Christians cannot be pessimists; Christians must always nourish in their hearts the fullness of joy. Try it, my brothers and sisters. I have tried it many times and in the darkest moments, when slander and persecution were at their worst: to unite myself intimately with Christ my friend, and to feel a comfort that all the joy on the earth do not give – the joy of feeling oneself close to God, even when humans do not understand it. It is the deepest joy that the heart can have.” William Barclay echoes the same sentiment as he says: “A gloomy Christian is contradiction in terms.” In the gospel of today St John the Baptist calls people to prepare themselves to welcome Christ through a change of lifestyle and making amends for their sins. The only thing that can take our joy away is sin in its various forms.The question the people put to John the Baptist was: What must we do? But we can modify the question a little and ask: What must we be? And the answer is: Be joyful—Rejoice! —Fr Joe Eruppakkatt, ssp   December 2009 READINGS OF THE WEEK Psalter Week 3 14 Mon (W) St John of the Cross, Num 24:2-7,15-17a; Ps 24:4bc-5ab,6-7bc,8-9; Mt 21:23-27 15 Tue (V) Zeph 3:1-2,9-13; Ps 33:2-3,6-7,17-18,19.23; Mt 21:28-32 16 Wed (V) Is 45:6b-8,18,21b-25; Ps 84:9ab-10,11-12,13-14; Lk 7:19-23 17 Thu (V) Gen 49:2,8-10; Ps 71:2,3-4ab,7-8,17; Mt 1:1-17 18 Fri (V) Jer 23:5-8; Ps 71:2,12-13,18-19; Mt 1:18-24 19 Sat (V) Jdg 13:2-7,24-25a; Ps 70:3-4a,5-6ab,16-17; Lk 1:5-25