Third Sunday of Advent - 15 Dec

Third Sunday of Advent (Year C)

Purification by the Fire of God

John answered them all, saying, ”I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”  Luke 3:16–17

Again, this Sunday, we are given the glorious witness of St. John the Baptist. In this sermon of John, he says that Jesus will come and baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  The image of being baptized “with fire” is a good one to reflect upon.  It especially reveals to us the deep purification Jesus desires for our souls.  

What does it mean to be purified?  For one thing, purification of our soul hurts.  But it hurts in a sweet sort of way.  Turning from sin and growing closer to God requires great sacrifice and surrender.  And it requires that we allow God to do powerful things within us.  And the most powerful thing God wants to do is purify us.

Our Catholic faith reveals to us the reality of Purgatory after we die.  Purgatory is said to be a place of much spiritual pain, but again, in a sweet sort of way.  It’s painful in the sense that we are stripped of all that we hold on to that God wants us to let go of.  It’s painful in the sense that we endure a complete transformation of who we are and what we love.  We learn to love God and God alone.  And in the embrace of our love of God, we come to love all people.

It’s also sweet because, as we are purified, we grow infinitely closer to God and grow in holiness.  This lifts the burden of sin and frees us to love as we ought.  

But our purification ought not start only in Purgatory.  We are all called to enter into that process of purification here and now.  We are called to heed the words of John the Baptist today and repent of all that keeps us from holiness of life.

Reflect, today, upon the purification to which God may be calling you.  What is it that you hold on to that He wants you free of?  Commit yourself to the purifying fire of God’s love and let that love cleanse you in this Advent season.

Lord, I do long to have my soul purified by You.  I do desire holiness of life.  Help me to begin this process here and now so that I can begin to experience the joy and freedom You have in store for me.  Jesus, I trust in You.

  (My Catholic Life)

Advent Weekday - 17 Dec

O Sapiéntia,
quæ ex ore Altíssimi prodísti,
attíngens a fine usque ad finem,
fórtiter suavitérque dispónens ómnia:
veni ad docéndum nos viam prudéntiæ.
“O Wisdom, you come forth from the mouth of the Most High. You fill the universe and hold all things together in a strong yet gentle manner. O come to teach us the way of truth.”
  As the great feast of Christmas approaches, its light begins to blot out the lights of the individual days, as planets are blotted out when they appear too close to the Sun. The great “O Antiphons” at Vespers are worth celebrating even if Vespers itself is not part of your daily pattern. They count down the last seven days before Christmas and tie together seven threads of hope, longing and doctrine which all find their culmination and final union in the moment of the Incarnation.
  Jesus is the Word and Wisdom of God. As Isaiah says, “On him the spirit of the Lord rests, a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and power.”  (universalis.com)

Advent Weekday - 18 Dec

O Adonái
  et Dux domus Israel,
qui Móysi in igne flammæ rubi apparuísti
et ei in Sina legem dedísti:
veni ad rediméndum nos in bráchio exténto.
“O Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush and you gave him the Law on Sinai. O come and save us with your mighty power.”
  Approaching the feast of God as man, we remember that this baby is the God and leader of Israel. “Adonai” is the name which is pronounced whenever the too-sacred name “YHWH” occurs in the Hebrew scriptures. It means “Sovereignty”, and by its use in sacred contexts it itself becomes too sacred to be used in ordinary speech.
  This is the second great Vesper antiphon in the seven-day countdown to Christmas. Vespers is the appropriate time for this antiphon since this is when the Magnificat, Mary’s own hymn of praise, is sung or said.  (universalis.com)

Advent Weekday - 19 Dec

O radix Iesse,
qui stas in signum populórum,
super quem continébunt reges os suum,
quem gentes deprecabúntur:
veni ad liberándum nos, iam noli tardáre.
“O stock of Jesse, who stand as a sign for the nations; before whom kings fall silent; whom the peoples acclaim – come come to deliver us, do not delay any more.”
  Born into humble circumstances, Jesus is nevertheless a descendant of David and his father Jesse. The family has long lost its royal glory in the eyes of the world, but still it stands as the hinge of salvation history.
  As Isaiah says: “A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots. That day, the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples. It will be sought out by the nations and its home will be glorious.”
  This is the third of the seven ancient antiphons at Vespers that count down the days to Christmas. Nothing stands in the way of these antiphons: compared to them, even Sundays have no antiphon of their own.  (universalis.com)

Advent Weekday - 20 Dec

O clavis David
  et sceptrum domus Israel;
qui áperis et nemo claudit;
claudis et nemo áperit:
veni et educ vinctum de domo cárceris,
sedéntem in ténebris et umbra mortis.
“O key of David and sceptre of Israel, you who open and nobody then can close, who close and nobody then can open: come and lead the captive from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
  The last antiphon celebrated the descent of Jesus from the family of David; today’s antiphon, the middle of the sequence of seven great ‘O Antiphons’ at Vespers, does not recall his descent but looks forward to his royal power, of which David’s was only a shadow and prefiguration.
  Here is the prophecy spoken by Isaiah: “He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the House of Judah. I place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; should he open, no one shall close, should he close, no one shall open. I drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a throne of glory for his father’s house.” The prophecy was made not about a king but about a mere Master of the Palace, Eliakim, whose family eventually sank into obscurity. But like so many Old Testament prophecies, this one receives a new lease of life as it is illuminated by the light of the rising Sun.  (universalis.com)

Advent Weekday - 21 Dec

O Oriens,
  splendor lucis ætérnæ
et sol iustítiæ:
veni et illúmina sedéntes in ténebris et umbra mortis.
“O Rising Sun, you are the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice: come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
  Yesterday’s antiphon spoke of the people sitting in darkness and shadow and so does today’s, but there is a difference. The light of Christmas is very near. Jesus is nearly here. No longer do we look forward to being led out of our prison: now we look for his light to come and shine into the prison itself, dispelling its darkness.
  Isaiah sees this future as a present: “The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.”
  For five evenings now the Magnificat antiphon at Vespers has been counting down to the birth of Jesus. There are only two evenings left to go. (universalis.com)