First Reading Isaiah 61:1-2a,10-11
The Lord’s salvation will be made known to the poor and the oppressed.
Responsorial Psalm Luke 1:46-50,53-54
Mary sings praise to God.
Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Paul encourages the Thessalonians to rejoice and pray always.
Gospel Reading
John 1:6-8,19-28
John gives testimony that he is preaching and baptizing in order to prepare for the coming of another.
Background on the Gospel Reading
This Sunday’s Gospel invites us to continue our reflection on the person and mission of John the Baptist. Today we depart from the Gospel of Mark and read a selection from the Gospel of John.
The Gospel for today combines a brief passage from the prologue to John’s Gospel with a report about John the Baptist. As in Mark’s Gospel, the Gospel of John contains no birth narrative. Instead, John’s Gospel begins with a theological reflection that has come to be called the “prologue.” This prologue places the story of Jesus in its cosmological framework. It speaks of Jesus’ existence with God since the beginning of time. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the culmination of the Word, the light that is coming into the world’s darkness.
Following this prologue, John reports on the ministry of John the Baptist. We learn about the attention that John the Baptist received from the Jewish authorities. Messengers from the Jewish priests, the Levites and the Pharisees question John about his identity and the meaning of the baptisms that he is performing. John’s Gospel uses these questions to establish the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist. John the Baptist is not the Messiah, nor is he Elijah or the Prophet. In John’s denials, we hear echoes of the kind of messianic expectations that were common in first-century Palestine.
The only affirmative response that John the Baptist gives is when he quotes the prophet Isaiah. Upon answering the next question, John announces that the savior they seek is already among them, but as yet unrecognized. John’s response highlights for us an important Advent theme: Jesus has already come into the world as our savior. During Advent, we pray that we will be able to recognize Jesus’ presence in our midst. Advent also reminds us that Jesus will come again to fulfill the promise of salvation. We pray that we will continue to be watchful as we anticipate that great day.
The third Sunday of Advent is also called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete, a Latin word which means “rejoice,” is taken from the entrance antiphon for Sunday’s Mass. This theme is echoed in today’s second reading from the first Letter to the Thessalonians. It is a reminder that Advent is a season of joy because our salvation is already at hand.
November 14 - Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
November 7 - Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
October 31 - Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
October 24 - Thirtieth Sunday in ordinary time Year B
October 17 - Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
October 10 - Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
October 3 - Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
September 25 - Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
September 19 - Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
September 12 - Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
September 5 - Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
August 29 - Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
August 22 - Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
August 15 -Twentieth Sunday of Year B (Bonus Episode on John 6)( Please Find below the episode of The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary )
August 15 - The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
August 8 : Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B
August 1 - Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
July 25 - Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
July 18 - Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
July 11 - Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
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