Homily 3rd Sunday of Advent C. “WHAT SHOULD WE DO?”
Summary of ideas of today’s liturgy.
The joy before the proximity of Christmas is the characteristic trait of the 3rd Sunday of Advent. That is why, in the Entrance Antiphon and in the 2nd reading, we pray:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near (Phil 4:4-7).”
In the Collect prayer, we ask God to help us arrive at Christmas and to celebrate it with “with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.”
- “O God, who see how your people faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity, enable us, we pray, to attain the joys of so great a salvation, and to celebrate them always with solemn worship and glad rejoicing. Through our Lord.”
- It is an interior joy, in such a manner that when Our Lord comes, he will find us “watchful in prayer and exultant in his praise (Preface II of Advent).”
This interior joy, however, is intimately linked with our correspondence to fulfill God’s Will through deeds of conversion.
That is why in the Gospel (Lk 3:10-18), before the innate aspiration common to every man towards happiness demonstrated by the question of the crowds towards St. John the Baptist: “What should we do?”, He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”
The Precursor’s reply, in short, describes how we are to acquire the joy brought about by God’s presence in our souls and our union with Him: through our daily conversion with deeds of charity and justice, rectifying and repairing the wrong we have done towards God and others, and through prayer, in particular, by asking pardon from God through the Sacrament of Confession so as to receive Him worthily in the Holy Communion and thus prepare ourselves for His coming.
“We implore your mercy, Lord, that this divine sustenance may cleanse us of our faults and prepare us for the coming feasts. Through Christ our Lord.” Prayer after Communion.
Dear friends, Advent season, in so far as a preparation for Christmas, i.e., for the salvific encounter with Christ, entails a profound and indispensable attitude of penance shown in being disposed to correct and renounce our evil ways in order to live these days with expectation and interior joy to commemorate the Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
May Our Lady, whose total and decisive “Fiat” (Be it done) help us to “Rejoice in our Lord” who will purify and elevate our thoughts, cure our immoderate attachment to worldly things, and direct towards God all our worries, our loves and our life.
A Blessed Gaudete Sunday and week ahead to you and your family! Fr. Rolly Arjonillo
SEE AS WELL AV SUMMARY OF GAUDETE SUNDAY. Worth the watch and best with sound.
VIDEO COMMENTARY
TOPIC: IS JOY POSSIBLE DESPITE YOUR DIFFICULTIES?
1st Reading Zephaniah 3:14-18A
Responsorial Psalm Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
2nd Reading Philippians 4:4-7
Alleluia Isaiah 61:1 (Cited In Luke 4:18)
Gospel Luke 3:10-18
Today is Gaudete Sunday. The Entrance Antiphon ushers our Mass with “Rejoice in the Lord always” and the theme is rejoicing in hope. Indeed, we must be joyful not just because we are filled with anticipation for the coming of Jesus our Savior but also because God is already with us. Joy is not the absence of problems, pain and sadness but just that awareness that God keeps us company through all these.
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