Sunday, December 11, 2011 (Third Sunday of Advent)

REFLECTION FOR TODAY
Holy Mother, on the cross Christ entrusted us to you as your children. Today we join with you in praising Him.
-- Second Antiphon: Morning Prayer

READINGS FOR TODAY
First Reading: Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11
(The Good News of Deliverance)
1 The Sovereign Lord has filled me with his Spirit. He has chosen me and sent me To bring good news to the poor, To heal the broken-hearted, To announce release to captives And freedom to those in prison.
2 He has sent me to proclaim That the time has come When the Lord will save his people And defeat their enemies. He has sent me to comfort all who mourn,
10 Jerusalem rejoices because of what the Lord has done. She is like a bride dressed for her wedding. God has clothed her with salvation and victory.

11 As surely as seeds sprout and grow, The Sovereign Lord will save his people, And all the nations will praise him.
Psalms: Luke 1:46-50, 53-54
(Mary's Song of Praise)
46 Mary said, “My heart praises the Lord;
47 my soul is glad because of God my Savior,  for he has remembered me, his lowly servant! From now on all people will call me happy,
49 because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me. His name is holy;
50 from one generation to another he shows mercy to those who honor him.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has kept the promise he made to our ancestors, and has come to the help of his servant Israel.
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
16 Be joyful always,
17 pray at all times,
18 be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.
19 Do not restrain the Holy Spirit;
20 do not despise inspired messages.
21 Put all things to the test: keep what is good
22 and avoid every kind of evil.
23 May the God who gives us peace make you holy in every way and keep your whole being—spirit, soul, and body—free from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you will do it, because he is faithful.
Gospel: John 1:6-8, 19-28
(John the Baptist's Message)
6 God sent his messenger, a man named John,
7 who came to tell people about the light, so that all should hear the message and believe.
8 He himself was not the light; he came to tell about the light.
19 The Jewish authorities in Jerusalem sent some priests and Levites to John to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 John did not refuse to answer, but spoke out openly and clearly, saying: “I am not the Messiah.”
21  “Who are you, then?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?” “No, I am not,” John answered. “Are you the Prophet?”  they asked. “No,” he replied.
22 “Then tell us who you are,” they said. “We have to take an answer back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself”
23 John answered by quoting the prophet Isaiah: “I am ‘the voice of someone shouting in the desert: Make a straight path for the Lord to travel!’”
24 The messengers, who had been sent by the Pharisees,
25 then  asked John, “If you are not the Messiah nor Elijah nor the Prophet, why do you baptize?”
26 John answered, “I baptize with water, but among you stands the one you do not know.
27 He is coming after me, but I am not good enough even to untie his sandals.”
28 All this happened in Bethany on the east side of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.