My Dear People,

This is the third Sunday of Advent— it is called Joyful Sunday. The readings begin with the prophet Micah’s words, “Thus says the Lord: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.” Those are very powerful words. Bethlehem was in the Tribe of Benjamin, which was the smallest tribe, with the fewest people. However, the Lord gives hope to Bethlehem that from that very place the ruler of Israel will come. This is the city of Jesse and his son David, who was chosen to be the king of the 12 tribes of Israel. A link is established between verses 4:2 and 5:1 by the verb “come forth” said of the law of the messianic king. The Messiah will be a “ruler” and his origin is pronounced as “for ever.” “His majesty shall reach the ends of the earth.”

In the Gospel, Luke shows that Mary on learning from the angel that her cousin Elizabeth is soon to give birth and is in need of support, our Lady in her charity, hastens to her aid. She has no regard for the difficulties this involves. Although we do not know where exactly Elizabeth was living (it is now thought to be Aim    Karin), it certainly meant a journey into the hill country which at that time would have taken four days.

From Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, Christians should learn to be caring people. “If we have this filial contact with Mary, we won’t think just about ourselves and our problems.” St Bede comments that Elizabeth blesses Mary using the same words as the archangel, “to show that she should be honored by angels and men and should indeed be revered above all other women.”

When we say the Hail Mary we repeat these divine greetings, “rejoicing with Mary at her dignity as Mother of God and praising the Lord, thanking him for having given Jesus Christ through Mary.”

St. John Chrysostom comments on this scene of the Gospel: “See how new and how wonderful this mystery is. He has not yet left the womb, but he speaks by leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out, but he makes himself heard by his actions; he has not yet seen the light, but he points out the Sun; he has not yet been born and he is keen to act as Precursor. The Lord is present, so he cannot contain himself or wait for nature to run its course: he wants to break out of the prison of his mother’s womb, and he makes sure he witnesses to the fact that the Savior is about to come.”

There will be a penance service on Wednesday, Dec. 19th at 6PM. This will be a great time for preparation for Christmas. Please check this bulletin for the schedule of Masses. The Vigil Mass is one hour later this year, at 10PM.

 Yours in Christ,

Fr. Vincent Clemente