Today, 18th of March, we celebrate
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
First Reading: Micah 5:1-4a
Thus says the LORD:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
and the rest of his kindred shall return
to the children of Israel.
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
and they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19.
R./ Lord, make us turn to you;
let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R./ Lord, make us turn to you;
let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O Lord of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R./ Lord, make us turn to you;
let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R./ Lord, make us turn to you;
let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10
Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.'"
First he says, "Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in."
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, "Behold, I come to do your will."
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this "will, "we have been consecrated
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-45
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.
Blessed are you among women
Dear brothers and sisters, peace and well-being.
Throughout Advent, we’ve been accompanied by significant figures such as the prophet Isaiah, the letters of Paul, St. Joseph, and John the Baptist. Naturally, we couldn’t reach Christmas without contemplating the figure of the Virgin Mary. We first saw her as Immaculate, and now we see her willing to fulfill the Father’s will, as a logical consequence of a “yes” that changed the history of the world, on the eve of Christmas.
Today’s readings speak to us about the value of small things and poverty. Both Micah and the evangelist Luke refer to this. The first reading is written in a time of social, political, and economic hardship. It was difficult to see the light amidst the calamity. That’s why Micah’s words resonate more strongly. From that small clan will come the future king of Israel. Something impossible for man, but not for God. It’s a promise of peace. And lasting peace. Just as back then, the world today is not overflowing with peace. This is our first challenge as 21st-century Christians: to sow peace in our hearts, in our families, and in our communities.
The prophet Micah certainly thought of a king from David’s lineage. A typical king with the limitations of monarchs of his time. But God, as usual, fulfills His promises beyond any human expectation. He lets another 700 years pass, and a woman, Mary, gives birth to the foretold Son of David.
God changes everything. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us of this, speaking about the animal sacrifices that were held in the temple of Jerusalem. Until Christ’s arrival, numerous ritual norms had to be followed. But Jesus renews everything. He doesn’t offer a sacrifice; He offers Himself, fulfilling the words of Psalm 40 (39): “Here I am, Lord, to do your will.” His sacrifice ends the bloody offerings, inaugurating a new era. It’s not our sacrifices or offerings that save us; it’s the unique sacrifice of Christ that has reconciled us with God.
Christ offered Himself to the Father, offering the sacrifice of Himself as a propitiation for our sins. Let’s also offer ourselves to the Father, always obeying His will. And let’s do this by uniting our sacrifice with Christ’s sacrifice. In the final stretch of this year’s Advent, it can be a good prayer to ask the Father to help us seek His will and, very importantly, to fulfill it. As Jesus did, as His Mother, Mary, did.
Mary was also poor and small. The Virgin Mary, who, after being surprised by God, hastens to help her cousin Elizabeth. Without thinking of her smallness and poverty, she responds to the need she perceives. Like at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. It must not have been easy to reach her destination, on unsafe roads and already expecting Jesus. But she did it. We sometimes struggle to pick up the phone to call a relative or friend we haven’t heard from in a long time, or to cross the street to do the shopping for an elderly person. Quite a difference.
Mary does everything by faith. By pure faith. Mary’s faith makes her happy, blessed. Her faith was not intellectual, born from a complete understanding of the angel Gabriel’s words. Mary’s faith was existential, born from love and trust in the God who spoke to her through His messenger. True faith is always like this, the faith that moves mountains and performs miracles. Reason alone does not ignite the believer’s heart because faith without love is cold and detached. The faith that makes us happy is the faith that springs from a believing heart, the faith that relies on those reasons of the heart that reason does not understand, as Pascal told us.
As Mary did, it is good for us to want to leave ourselves, to start walking, to go towards others. Following Mary’s example on this fourth Sunday of Advent, as we are at the threshold of Christmas, it is good to make our lives a path towards our neighbor, offering help and bringing a message of peace. In the end, what will remain of our lives, in God’s eyes, is what we have done for others. Selfishness is a centripetal force that pushes us to always walk towards ourselves, while love is the great centrifugal force that pushes us to walk towards others.
God wants us, like Mary, to always live walking towards others, giving the best of ourselves to others at all times, bringing joy to our brothers. Living Advent as a journey of love towards others is a very Christian way of preparing for Christmas. If John personifies the call to conversion, Mary signifies the attitude of faith. Mary is the woman who welcomes the Word and the woman who enters into God’s intentions. She perceives what God wants for her and carries it out. Always available. Bearer of joy. That’s why she is blessed among women. That’s why she is a model for all of us.
Alejandro Carbajo, CMFGreetings (See Gospel)
Blessed are they who believe with Mary
that the Lord will fulfill his promises.
The Lord be with you.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
A. God Visits His People
Our world is full of humble, ordinary people living in obscure hamlets, and yet some people like these have changed the course of the world. Within the history of the Church we are shown today the first person coming from such an ordinary milieu who by a simple phrase of her YES turned around the course of the world and the Church to be. It is Mary. Her YES to God, her "Here I am," gave to her and to us Jesus, the Son of God. It made possible the "Here I am, I come to do your will," of Jesus. Her YES and the YES of Jesus call us and the whole Church today to give our unconditional YES to God. Let us ask in this Eucharist that we may join Jesus and Mary in their YES. Then we can change the course of the world today.
B. God's Way Of Coming
To solve our human problems we have recourse to strong means, like authority, influence, money, and power. God's upsetting standards are quite different from ours. To save our world and us he joins people in their weakness and becomes human among us. The Savior is born not in the capital but in a sleepy rural town. He is born in poverty. He overthrows the power of evil with the apparent weakness of humility, obedience, and service. A woman and a child are at the beginning of our salvation. Let us recognize God's astonishing way of coming.
Penitential Act
A. God Visits His People
Too often we have said "no" to God and to the people who appealed to us. Let us ask God and one another to forgive us. (pause)
Have mercy on us, Lord, nd forgive us all our sins. Make us entrust ourselves to you and carry out your plans,
so that you can lead us to everlasting life.
R/ Amen.
B. God's Way Of Coming
Are we willing to welcome the Lord and let him work in us
not in the way we want but on his own terms?
Let us examine ourselves.
(pause)
Lord, you came to restore our strength
by coming among us in human weakness:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you made us rich in grace
by your poverty and humility:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord, you displayed your saving power
in service and suffering:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
save us and the world from the evil of sin,
convert us to your ways
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
A. God Visits His People
Let us pray that with Mary
we may eagerly prepare for the Lord's coming
(pause)
Faithful God,
let us see the face of your Son
and we shall be saved.
Let Jesus come so much alive
among us your people
that with him we can seek your will in all we do.
Help us to serve you and our brothers and sisters
together with Mary, your humble servant,
and with her sing the joyful song
of those you set free
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
B. God's Way Of Coming
Let us pray to God that we may welcome his Son
with deep faith.
(pause)
Our God and Father,
we are eagerly awaiting
the deeper coming of your Son among us.
Prepare us to recognize and receive him
when he comes in his own astonishing way.
We expected him to come with great power
and he comes in poverty and humility;
we looked for him in far places
and he stands by our side;
we waited for extraordinary signs
and we discover him in the simplicity
of everyday life and everyday people.
Accustom us to your Son and his ways
that he may change our lives to conform to his,
for he is our Lord and Savior for ever. R/ Amen.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction: A Humble Ruler Brings Peace
A shepherd king born in humility will bring peace and salvation.
Second Reading Introduction: I Am Coming To Obey Your Will
When Jesus comes, he gives himself totally to the Father. Can we say with him: Here I am to do your will?
Gospel Introduction: Blessed Is She Who Believed
While she was bearing God's son, Mary paid her cousin Elizabeth a visit of loving service.
General Intercessions
With Mary we firmly believe that God is fulfilling his promises. With Mary we pray to the Father:
R/ Lord, give us your Son.
• That the Church, God's People today, may welcome the Lord Jesus with warmth and joy in the poor and the little people, let us pray: R/ Lord, give us your Son.
• That people with their hearts set on peace may bring to our torn and divided world the harmony and the cooperation which Jesus, the Prince of Peace, wanted to give us, let us pray: R/ Lord, give us your Son.
• That justice may flourish in our day, that the needy may be filled with good things and that there may be love and mercy among people as they accept Jesus as their Savior, let us pray: R/ Lord, give us your Son.
• That people who have lost the way in life and those who live in the night of doubt and fear may come to know who their Savior is, let us pray: R/ Lord, give us your Son.
• That all our communities, great and small, which celebrate the joy of Christmas, may grow in unity and friendship and in commitment to unselfish service, let us pray: R/ Lord, give us your Son.
Father in heaven, give us your Son, for we need him to make us and our world new. In him we place all our hope, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God of mercy,
you are so near to us
that Jesus, your Son, born of the Virgin Mary,
becomes one of us as our Emmanuel,
our God-with-us.
He looks so much like us
that we are afraid not to recognize him
when he passes among us.
May we truly discover him
in the poor and those in need
and even in ourselves, in our own weakness,
that he may take us by the hand
and lead us to you,
our God and Father for ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord Jesus is near this Christmas to take a greater place in our lives. He is near to us here in this Eucharist. With him we thank the Father for his lasting kindness.
Invitation to the Lord's Prayer
In the words of Jesus, our brother,
let us pray to our Father
that with Jesus we may do his will: R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from every evil
and let your Son be our peace.
Help us to understand
that to love is not only to give
but also to take and receive.
Open our hearts to welcome your Son
and to receive from him light and life,
as we prepare in joyful hope
for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.
R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, our Lord,
who said on coming into the world:
"God, here I am;
I am coming to do your will."
Happy are we to be invited
to receive the bread of life
that will help us to seek God's will.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord God, loving Father,
in this Eucharistic celebration
you have given us Jesus your Son.
Help us to welcome him always
with the attitude of Mary, his mother,
ready for him when he is least expected,
recognizing him in events and in people,
and sharing him with those we meet
in the joy of serving love.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
We are now close to Christmas
and we are already full of joy.
Let it not be a superficial cheer
but a joy that comes from saying YES to God,
to his plans, to his love,
and of giving ourselves in love
to those around us.
May God give you this joy and bless you all:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go and recognize the Lord
and welcome him when we meet him. R/ Thanks be to God.
