We continue to advance along the path of Advent. After receiving the invitation to hope and to nourish an attitude of vigilance in the First Sunday; after preparing ourselves to gestate communion from the tenderness of God in the Second Sunday, today the liturgy, in this Third Sunday, which is called “gaudete”, invites us to open our hearts to trusting patience, source and motor of true joy The Lord is very near. His coming renews our strength and sustains our daily quests.
We welcome the Word
Brothers, wait with patience until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently until it receives the early and the latter rain. Wait patiently And you also, and strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Brethren, do not grumble against one another, lest you be condemned; behold, the judge is already at the gates. Brethren, take as a model of endurance and patience the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. who spoke in the name of the Lord. (James 5:7-10)
The Word invites us to an Advent lived without haste, but with firmness, trusting that God acts in the hidden, as one who takes care of a seed. The patience that James proposes is not passive: it is an attitude of active trust, which strengthens the heart and opens paths of reconciliation. James proposes the prophets as models.
Determination illuminates our path
“We are called to be bold women, bearers of hope, capable of giving daring responses to the pressing challenges of injustice and growing social inequality that surround us. For this, we need to grow in a prophetic spirituality, which impels us to be coherent announcers of the Good News through our lives” (GC XIX Determination n. 12).
This Sunday reminds us that Christian hope is always prophetic: it is born of trusting in God’s promise, but becomes visible in concrete gestures of justice, solidarity and active charity.
Resonates in our lives
What people and situations help you to live the prophecy of the Gospel?
Stop for a moment, look around you and recognize those faces and experiences that inspire you and help you to wait patiently and act boldly.
