Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection December 21, 2024
Third Week of Advent
21st December 2024 (Saturday)
Psalter: Week 3
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Song of Solomon 2:8-14
The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice. My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
Psalm 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21 (R. 1a, 3a)
R/. Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just; O Sing him a song that is new
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. O Emmanuel, our King, and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God!
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Saturday – Third Week of Advent
Guidelines: Our God is one who contains everything and everyone. But He makes Himself contained in our small hearts and communities
1. There is a spirit of search and discovery in both readings. In the first reading, it is a passionate desire to meet the beloved. She craves to see his lovely face and hear his sweet voice.
2. It is all a matter of encounter – between two women of tremendous faith, between two historic mothers – Mary, the mother of Jesus the Saviour, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. There is also another crucial encounter between the awaited Messiah and his precursor.
3. This encounter is certainly a work of the Holy Spirit, prompted by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is not stagnant. One who is filled by the Spirit, cannot remain within the ego-demarcation. Spirit moves the person.
4. That is why Mary, already conceived by the Holy Spirit, goes with “haste” to Elizabeth. Mobility in charity is an essential sign and fruit of the Spirit. Lack of external movement toward the other is a sign of a lack of interior movement of the heart.
5. One who is moved by the Spirit cannot but move others. Mary was moved by the Spirit and so she was able to move with the Spirit both Elizabeth and her son in the womb. As a consequence, Elizabeth is led to words of blessing and appreciation. And the child in her womb leaps with joy, which is again an essential trait and fruit of the Spirit.
Practice: Mary is blessed because she believed in God and obeyed His will. We too will be blessed if we too believe in God’s words and obey
