3rd Sunday in Advent (B/V)

Sunday, December 15

Description:
Introit: Ps 71:14-18 (antiphon: Phil 4:4)
Old Testament: Is 35:1-10
Epistle: James 5:7-11
Gospel: Matt 11:2-15

The Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Brings True Rejoicing, Even Under the Cross

Sometimes life requires the astonishing patience of Job. Like him, we are to rejoice in the midst of affliction, be grounded in repentance under the cross of Christ, and hope relentlessly in His resurrection, that we might see "the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful" (James 5:11). In the promise of the Gospel, therefore, "be patient" and "establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand" (James 5:7, 8). Like St. John the Baptist, whatever your own kind of prison or suffering may be, call upon Jesus and receive the strength of His Word from those He sends to you. For as "the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up," so is the good news of Jesus preached to you also (Matt. 11:5). He comes and restores the fortunes of Zion, His holy Church, so that "sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Is. 35:10).