14 December 2025 (Sunday) / Third Sunday of Advent

14 December 2025 (Sunday)

Third Sunday of Advent.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church: 

First Reading: Isaiah 35: 1-6, 10
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 146: 6-10
Second Reading: James 5: 7-10
Alleluia: Isaiah 61: 1
Gospel: Matthew 11: 2-11

First Reading: Isaiah 35: 1-6, 10

1 The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily.
2 It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise: the glory of Libanus is given to it: the beauty of Carmel, and Saron, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of our God.
3 Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees.
4 Say to the fainthearted: Take courage, and fear not: behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense: God himself will come and will save you.
5 Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be free.
10 And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and shall come into Sion with praise, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 146: 6-10

R. (Is 35:4) Lord, come and save us.
or
R. Alleluia.

6 The LORD God made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them.
7 The LORD God keepeth truth for ever: who executeth judgment for them that suffer wrong: who giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth them that are fettered.

R. Lord, come and save us.
or
R. Alleluia.

8 The Lord enlighteneth the blind. The Lord lifteth up them that are cast down: the Lord loveth the just.
9 The Lord keepeth the strangers.

R. Lord, come and save us.
or
R. Alleluia.

9 He will support the fatherless and the widow: and the ways of sinners he will destroy.
10 The Lord shall reign for ever: thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation.

R. Lord, come and save us.
or
R. Alleluia.

Second Reading: James 5: 7-10

7 Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth: patiently bearing till he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be you therefore also patient, and strengthen your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Grudge not, brethren, one against another, that you may not be judged. Behold the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, for an example of suffering evil, of labour and patience, the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Alleluia: Isaiah 61: 1
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Matthew 11: 2-11

2 Now when John had heard in prison the works of Christ: sending two of his disciples he said to him:
3 Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another?
4 And Jesus making answer said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen.
5 The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
6 And blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in me.
7 And when they went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: What went you out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind?
8 But what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? Behold they that are clothed in soft garments, are in the houses of kings.
9 But what went you out to see? a prophet? yea I tell you, and more than a prophet.
10 For this is he of whom it is written: Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.
11 Amen I say to you, there hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is the lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

For our reflection today:

John, hearing of Jesus’ works, is seized with doubt as to whether He is really the Messiah or not. The text emphasizes that John is in prison, and this, as well as being a physical place, makes us think of the inner situation he is experiencing: in prison there is darkness, there is no possibility of seeing clearly and seeing beyond it. In effect, the Baptist is no longer able to recognize Jesus as the awaited Messiah. He is assailed by doubt, and he sends the disciples to check: “Go and see if he is the Messiah or not”. But this means that even the greatest believer goes through the tunnel of doubt. And this is not a bad thing; on the contrary, sometimes it is essential for spiritual growth: it helps us understand that God is always greater than we imagine Him to be. His works are surprising compared to our calculations; His actions are different, always, they exceed our needs and expectations; and therefore, we must never stop seeking Him and converting to His true face. This is what the Baptist does: in doubt, he still seeks Him, questions Him, “argues” with Him and finally rediscovers Him. John, defined by Jesus as the greatest among those born of women (cf. Mt 11:11), teaches us, in short, not to close God within our own mindsets. This is always the danger, the temptation: to make ourselves a God to our measure, a God to use. And God is something else. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 11 December 2022)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)