I shrieked with joy as I looked at the positive pregnancy test. We had been praying for our second child and here she is! My husband and I joked about doing a “press release” on Christmas. My son started singing “Kuya Kyler! Kuya Kyler!” calling himself an older brother. I bought a maternity health plan to cover for my tests for the new season. 

But on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we learned that the baby had no heartbeat. I stumbled upon the verse above and asked, “Lord, how is that possible? How can I have peace in the midst of grief?” God answered, “Thankfulness and trust.” 

I started thanking Him for protecting our family from what could have been a difficult pregnancy. I thanked Him for protecting our child from what could have been a tough life. Then I trusted that He had better timing and plan. Peace started to well up in my heart in the dark valley. 

That peace is available to you too. Thank Him, trust Him, and let peace well up in your heart. Veia Lim-Viñas (veiallim@gmail.com)

Reflect

God knows what He is doing. He is never mistaken. Find peace in His wisdom and sovereignty. 

Lord, I find peace that You see things I don’t see. I trust in the wisdom of Your plans. Amen.

St. Paul of Latos, pray for us.

First Reading | Zephaniah 3:14-18

“The Lord has repealed your sentence.” What a relief! Because the sentence was a death sentence! Death is what sin brings to us, and ultimately, this is what we deserve for rebelling against God’s goodness toward us. The prophet Zephaniah exhorts us to rejoice and exult as God has repealed the sentence of death and promises a new day when He will be in our midst. 

¹⁴ Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! ¹⁵ The Lord has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; the King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. 16 On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! ¹⁷ The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, 18 as one sings at festivals.

Responsorial Psalm | Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6

R: Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

² God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. ³ With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation. (R) ⁴ Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name. (R) ⁵ Sing praise to the Lord for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth. ⁶ Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel! (R)

Second Reading | Philippians 4:4-7

God always has our best interest at heart. He will never desire evil to happen to us. Evil may happen but this is always a result of our sin or that of others. Even when things are not so good, it gives us the opportunity to surrender ourselves into the hands of God. A consistent and committed life of prayer is the best way to rejoice in the Lord even in times of adversity. 

⁴ Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! ⁵ Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. ⁷ Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Gospel | Luke 3:10-18

John describes Jesus' ministry as spectacularly different compared to his own. John's ministry has caught the attention of many Jews, so imagine the effect that Jesus’ ministry will have. It is important to realize the effect of Jesus' words and actions on the Jews of His time. This way we may also realize the significance of the Gospel message for us.

Gospel Acclamation

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.

¹⁰ The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” ¹¹ He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” ¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³ He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” ¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” ¹⁵ Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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.” ¹⁸ Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.

Read the Bible in one year! Read HEBREWS 1 - 4 today.

Joyful at All Times 

On this Third Sunday of Advent, the word “rejoice” is heard a number of times in the readings. It is fitting because today is also called Gaudete Sunday, and Gaudete is Latin for rejoice. 

The big question is, how in the world are we to be joyful in the midst of the seemingly insurmountable troubles that we have to deal with? To answer the question, let us pay attention to John the Baptist who declares that he only lives to magnify Christ. “I am not even worthy to untie the straps of His sandals” (Luke 3:16). It is clear to John that Jesus is the light and John himself is a witness to the Light. Just as this Precursor of Jesus is aware of his role in relation to Christ, 

we, too, can lead happy and contented lives if we acknowledge the person and mission of Jesus. He is our loving God who became one of us to save us. If we keep in mind how valuable we are to Him—who gave His own life for us without question—we will surely possess an unspeakable joy that will make us rise above life’s adversities.   

John the Baptist appears to be an unnerving figure as he brazenly responds to the incessant questioning of the Jewish religious leaders. His confidence results from a certitude of his own identity and mission, and an interior joy in knowing that something, rather, Someone wonderful is coming. He is happy to prepare the people to receive an enormous blessing that they do not even deserve.

Now, do we see the answer to our big question of how to be joyful at all times? Let us count our blessings and be ever grateful. Let us nurture our faith in the Lord and trust that He has a plan. The outcome may not be immediately visible to us, but we trust that God is always good. Fr. Rick Montañez, AA

reflection question

Do you readily count your blessings in life? 

Lord, may we fix our eyes on You, the source of all joy and the reason for this season. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ___________________________________