Gospel: December 21, 2023
(Thursday)
3rd Week of Advent
Psalter: Week 3 / (Violet/White)
St. Peter Canisius, priest & doctorResponsorial Psalm: Ps 33: 2-3, 11-12, 20-21
Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.
1st Reading: Songs of Songs 2: 8-14 (or Zephaniah 3: 14-18a)The voice of my lover! Behold he comes, springing across the mountains, jumping over the hills, like a gazelle or a young stag.
Now he stands behind our wall, looking through the windows, peering through the lattice.
My lover speaks to me,
“Arise, my love, my beautiful one!
Come, the winter is gone, the rains are over.
Flowers have appeared on earth; the season of singing has come; the cooing of doves is heard.
The fig tree forms its early fruit, the vines in blossom are fragrant.
Arise, my beautiful one, come with me, my love, come.
O my dove in the rocky cleft, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice.
Your face—how lovely!
Your voice—how sweet!”
Gospel: Luke 1: 39-45Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women; and blessed is the fruit of your womb! How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you, who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!”
Reflection:“The time apart can even strengthen relationship.”
We might be separated from those we love for several reasons: jobs or studies that take us to different cities, military deployment, and estrangements caused by arguments or past hurts. As difficult as these separations are, the reunions at their conclusion are filled with joy, obscuring the pain and difficulty of the time apart. In some cases, the time apart can even strengthen the relationship by reminding us of the depth of our love for each other.
The readings today proclaim the joy of coming together with those we love. In the Song of Songs, the lovers’ reunion is compared to the coming of spring which brings new life. Elizabeth greets Mary with great joy, not because her kinswoman has come to help her in the last days of her pregnancy, but because Mary is carrying Elizabeth’s Lord. Are we as excited to meet our Lord? Do we treat each Mass we attend, each visit for adoration, and every moment of prayer as an opportunity to meet the one we love? In these last days of Advent, may we prepare our hearts to meet the Lord.
