News - December 2022 RSS Feed

The gospel on Christmas Eve and Day teaches us that the feast of Christ’s birth has everything to do with the real world in which we live. The prologue to St. John’s gospel puts it so eloquently: In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was God; and the Word became flesh and the Word has made his dwelling among us. 

This weekend, we hear St. Matthew’s version of the Annunciation. In it, St. Matthew claims that this encounter between God’s messenger and Joseph, and more importantly, the conception and birth of God’s own Son from the womb of Mary, fulfill Isaiah’s vision of a future Messiah.

This Third Sunday of Advent is traditionally known as Gaudete Sunday, so-called from the first word of the Entrance Antiphon at Mass. In the first reading, Isaiah foresees a time when God will bring about a new order of creation, and new life for his beloved people. 

The Scripture readings for this weekend are an intriguing combination of dreamy idealism and blunt realism.