Sunday Sermon - 12.15.24

LATIN MASS: THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT (GAUDETE)

EPISTLE: Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice. 5 Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh. 6 Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

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It’s such a simple thing to say, to rejoice in the Lord always. Simple, yet difficult to do. The temptations and pressures of this world can come crashing into our lives to shake our peace in God. But by continuing to keep our focus on Him and to remain close to the sacraments, we can fight off temptations as they arrive. By going through these temptations, we strengthen our will. The stronger our will becomes, the more resolute we become as warriors for Christ. Over time we will be amazed at how the temptations of the past will hold no sway over us if we fight now to keep our focus on Christ and to rejoice in Him always.

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GOSPEL: John 1:19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and did not deny: and he confessed: I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No. 22 They said therefore unto him: Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said: I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias. 24 And they that were sent, were of the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? 26 John answered them, saying: I baptize with water; but there hath stood One in the midst of you, whom you know not. 27 The same is He that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose. 28 These things were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

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Each of us must emulate John the Baptist in our own life and the lives of others. We must prepare the way of the Lord in our own lives by repenting of our evil and making our souls ready for Him. We must go to Confession and the season of Advent is a great time to make your confession. Prepare your soul by cleaning out all the sin in your life. Get rid of it so that Our Lord has a suitable and holy tabernacle in your soul to make His arrival. As Christmas day arrives, will Our Lord find your soul cleansed and ready for Him. Will the path into your soul be straight and level for Our Lord?

You can also be John the Baptist for others as well. Encourage your family and friends to come with you when you go to Confession.

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NOVUS ORDO: THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

OLD TESTAMENT: Zephaniah 3:14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, He has turned away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. 16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. 17 The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will renew you in His love; He will exult over you with loud singing 18 as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it.

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Scripture over and over tells us to rejoice in the Lord and to celebrate His arrival. Even in the midst of persecution, disease, mourning, suffering and hardship, we must still find a way to rejoice in the Lord. God did not spare even Himself from these hardships, so He is not asking us to do something He has not done. All of that Our Lord experienced during His life, yet He always rejoiced in the Father and Holy Ghost. We should as well. This life we have is short, and eternity is long. Keep your focus on the eternal because it arrives sooner than you expect.

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NEW TESTAMENT: Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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As discussed above, keep rejoicing in Our Lord. Then the peace of God will settle into your soul and you will experience joy above all happiness you can receive here on earth.

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GOSPEL: Luke 3:10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but One who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in His Hand, to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His granary; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

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John the Baptist gives us hope for the coming of the Lord, but also a warning. Our Lord will arrive with fire and the Holy Ghost. You WILL face judgement from Him. You are given this time right now to make your choice between serving Him or serving sin. You must choose between Heaven and hell. If you refuse to choose, then you are choosing hell. John the Baptist isn’t kidding around here. He’s deadly serious. We will experience the miracle of the Incarnation and the Nativity of Our Lord soon, but we must then choose to serve Him each day. We cannot have two masters. So we must choose which master we want. Do we want Our Lord or do we want sin and the demons?

Choose wisely.