Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
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,
as one sings at festivals. (Zep 3:14-18a)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121221.cfm
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121220.cfm
On this Third Sunday of Advent, the church, along with Saint Paul, invites us to “rejoice in the Lord always.” Today is also the feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, la Morenita, who appeared to Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin in 1531. The prophet Zephaniah proclaims that even God rejoices and sings “as one sings at festivals.”
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
III Advent Sunday—Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12
