3rd Sunday of Advent (A)

Sunday reflections from liturgical years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

December 15, 2013 (edited for 12/14/2025)
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 35:1-6, 10
Psalm 146
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11

"Go back and report to John what you hear and see."

St. John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah. Both of them prophets. Both were martyred. John prepared the way for Christ. And Christ prepared the way for His people, and continues to prepare the Way for all, through the ministers of the Sacraments in the Catholic Church.

After John finished his mission to baptize in the river Jordan, he decreases in stature; and Christ's mission begins to be in the forefront - to build the Kingdom of God by His mission of healing and preaching to the Jews and Gentiles who professed faith in Him. As Jesus now enters the forefront, He commends John the Baptist for his great role in preparing the people Israel to be saved from sin.

These were two great men in their own right. They call all humanity to follow in their footsteps. The mission is especially the responsibility of the faithful, who are called to bring themselves and others back to God in the fire of the Holy Spirit, by a life of repentance and amendment of life. It is the amendment and reform of one's life as well as its promotion to non-believers that witness to the life of Christ and God's Kingdom.

The baptisms performed by John the Baptist, and our own baptism in the name of the Holy Trinity, makes us share in the prophetic mission of of both John the Baptist and Jesus. How are we to understand the prophetic vocation we received from baptism? A prophet is one who speaks in behalf of God to the people. He announces the Good News. And he denounces the evil of his times. This was what John the Baptist and Christ Jesus Himself also did. The gospel reveals that both their announcement of God's Kingdom and the denouncement of the evil of their own times have cost them their life. Not all are called to be martyrs like John and Christ, but all the faithful have a responsibility to be the "salt of the earth and the light of the world" - to show to the world that a life in Christ makes a big difference in the lives of others through daily acts of patience, courage, and kindness.

Given the circumstances of the world we now live in, how can we specifically be the "salt of the earth and the light of the world" for 2026? Like John the Baptist and Christ, we can follow their footsteps to witness to what they stood for: Life in all its fullness. Prophetic witness can be as simple as opting to follow the stance of the Church with regard to the culture of life. This culture of life was emphasized and made clear to everyone in the world during the pontificate of St. John Paul II. By simply respecting life in all its stages (from womb to tomb), the faithful can make a stand in Christ, and with the Church, for the mission to value the sacrality of life as a gift from God, and a responsibility to defend and protect in the very secular contexts of family, work, and charitable deeds. And this stance can also mean in our own times, to adopt the mindset of inclusivity and acceptance of diversity in the world: that no person, no community, and no country, ought to be left behind.

Verses from this Sunday readings:
Say to those whose hearts are frightened; be strong fear not! (Isaiah 35)
The Lord gives food to the hungry; He sets captives free (Psalm 146)
Steady your hearts because the coming of the Lord is at hand (James 5)
History has not known man born of woman greater than John the Baptizer (Matthew 11)

2nd Sunday of Advent (A)

Reflections for liturgical years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)
December 8, 2013 (edited for 12/7/2025)
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72
Romans 15:4-9
Matthew 3:1-12

"I baptize you in water. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire."

John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Old Testament, and the bridge to the New Testament, prepared the people Israel for the coming of Christ. He prepared the people by baptizing them in the in the Jordan river. His prophetic message to the Jews of his time is also a message for our present age: to prepare for the coming of Christ in our minds, hearts, souls, and in all our relationship at work and with family. John the Baptist calls each one to look deep into their souls and to act in a direction of repentance and amendment of life - that God's light may shine each one more brightly. God's light helps each one under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharistic community to follow the right path. It is in Christ that each one can unlearn bad habits and do what is right in the eyes of both God and man. In Christ Jesus, all can see what is essential: God, His love for each one personally, and for all people. This Sunday of Advent is another opportunity to reflect well on John's message to prepare ourselves well to receive the Lord in our lives.

Moving forward three centuries after John the Baptist baptized in the Jordan, St. Augustine of Hippo, a bishop and doctor of the Church, wrote also in his Advent sermon that John's baptism was meant to prepare the people Israel for the Savior. Now, John the Baptist preaches about the baptism of Christ. Unlike John's baptism, the baptism Christ will give is a baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire. In this baptism everyone receives "a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, and a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord". In this baptism, the faithful are all called to share in the Church's mission to build God's Kingdom in the very circumstances of their work and life.

The message on this Sunday's theme of baptism helps all to reflect on the meaning of each one's own baptism. For the baptism received gifted the faithful with membership in the community of the Church. As members of the Church, it asks each one to fulfill a task and a responsibility: to participate in Christ's mission to bring the gospel to this present generation. Each one is commissioned to make their baptismal consecration bear the image and work of Christ in their lives, and to share that to others as well. This can be done one day at a time. Advent reroots each one's work and life in the context of their initial baptismal commitment to Christ. In this rerooting, one can slow down, pause, and reflect more deeply: "What have I done for Christ?" "What am I doing for Christ?" "What can I do for Christ?"

Quotes from the Sunday readings:
The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Isaiah 11)
For he shall rescue the poor man when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him (Psalm 72)
God the source of all patience and encouragement enables us to live in the spirit of Christ Jesus (Romans 15)
A herald's voice in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.' (Matthew 3)

1st Sunday of Advent (A)

Sunday reflections for liturgical years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

December 1, 2013 (edited for 11/30/2025)
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:37-44

"The Son of Man is coming at the time you least expect."

Advent marks the beginning of the liturgical season in the Church. It is a sign that Christmas, the the remembrance of the time our Lord Jesus Christ was born, is near. It is a time of much preparation, not only for Christmas day, but also to remember and prepare for the return of the Son of Man. If the Advent season calls us to prepare, what can the readings this Sunday reveal about how we are to prepare? From the book of Isaiah, the passage tells us to to prepare by working for peace: 'to turn our swords into plowshares, and not to train for war again'. And this we prepare internally, in our minds, hearts, and souls. In the reading from St. Paul to the letter to the Romans, Paul teaches that to prepare for the Lord's coming, we are to live honorably and not to indulge in vice and excess - especially in matters related to the desires of the flesh. Finally, in the gospel according to Matthew, the gospel reminds us to keep a watchful eye, and not to be unconcerned about what is happening around us.

During Advent, we anticipate both the remembrance of the Lord's birth in a poor Bethlehem stable, and the time of His return at the end of the world. It is at this end that He comes to bring justice in much splendor and glory. When we examine the writings of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (a doctor of the Church in the early Church), he wrote well about this twin remembrance of the birth of Jesus and His second coming:

"We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom...At the first coming, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At His second coming He will be clothed in light as a garment." (St. Cyril of Jerusalem)

Material preparation for Advent may be easy and brings surface joy, but the spiritual preparation for an inner joy that lasts longer, takes more effort. If spiritual preparation is taken to heart, it can be done in the context of the the Sacrament of Confession and the Eucharist. Preparing ourselves spiritually requires entering into the spirit of the season - through the prayers of the liturgy and our own personal prayer. The color purple expresses well this spirit of the season. One can prepare a lot externally, but the ideal is to prepare ourselves also for Christ - in acts of charity to the poor and the needy. And not only in material things, but in kindness and respect to them as well. By this preparation, we our whole being for the coming of the Lord into our work, our lives, and our homes. It is a call and an opportunity to undertake every year. It is therefore important not to waste the time and opportunity when it is given by God to all the faithful in the Church.

Scripture quotes from the readings:
He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples (Isaiah 2)
To Jerusalem the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord (Psalm 122)
Wake from sleep, for our salvation is closer than when we first accepted the faith (Romans 13)
The coming of the Son of Man will repeat what happened in Noah's time (Matthew 24)